Game of Drones – UAV Combat Event at Maker Faire, CA

Not that long ago FPV drone racing was little more than an idea. So would it be ridiculous to predict the rise of other drone-related sports? Another beginning to take off in popularity is drone on drone combat. The idea appears to be pretty simple: knock your opponent’s drone out of the sky.
The thought of going to all the trouble of putting together a drone, just to watch it be obliterated for the entertainment of others, might seem a little strange. But that hasn’t stopped a growing community of drone combat fans from building.

If you haven't seen @aerialsports combat before, this is seriously epic pic.twitter.com/jv3ksPfwZv

— Sally French (@TheDroneGirl) May 21, 2016

As part of the Drone Sports World at this year’s Maker Faire in San Mateo, CA, there’s been an event held by the Aerial Sports League,  a group of enthusiasts who love to race, and, as it turns out, fight with their drones. You can see the winner below successfully downing an opponent by firing a net at it. Ingenious. Other competitors went with less sophisticated weaponry, such as hanging cables designed to tangle any opponent flying below.

Do you have what it takes to reign supreme in drone-on-drone combat?  Brute strength meets flying agility in the unforgiving crucible of the aerial sports combat arena.  The rules are simple – Two drones enter, one drone leaves.  What happens in between is an orgy of robot destruction and frantic repairs as human & machine join forces in the ultimate drone smackdown.” – Aerial Sports League

For a more in-depth look at the action as it happened, check out the video below. It doesn’t provide the best view, but you get the idea. We’ll add in the official video as soon as it’s been edited and posted.

So there you have it. Perhaps drone combat could become another UAV sport of the future, with more complex drones, sophisticated weaponry and even a professional circuit. You heard it here first.