Fly-Mi triumphs at UAS Challenge 2025 with 3rd Place and Safety Award
Fly-Mi has made an impressive debut at the UAS Challenge 2025, earning 3rd place overall among 42 competing teams from around the world. Organized annually by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE), the UAS Challenge is one of the premier student competitions in Europe focused on the design, development, and operation of unmanned aerial systems (UAS).
The UAS challenge 2025 tasked teams with creating a drone capable of autonomously delivering humanitarian aid to disaster-struck areas inaccessible by road, mimicking real-world applications in remote logistics and emergency response.
A Year of Engineering Excellence
Fly-Mi’s journey began in October 2024, kicking off a demanding and immersive engineering project that spanned nearly ten months. Throughout the process, the team produced a series of detailed technical reports documenting every phase of their design. From early concept studies to aerodynamic modeling, structural analysis, and software integration, the documentation reflected the comprehensive nature of the project. One of the final submissions, the Flight Readiness Review, served as a critical safety assessment of the aircraft’s airworthiness and operational reliability, an essential step before flight.
Their drone, named O.L.I.V.I.A. (Optimized Lightweight Intelligent Vehicle for Immediate Assistance), is a fixed-wing UAV with a wingspan of 3 meters and a length of 1.5 meters. Weighing 5.33 kg, it can carry up to 2 kg of payload, making it well-suited for simulated humanitarian missions requiring precision delivery and efficient navigation over large areas.
A Confident Performance at the Fly-Off
The culmination of the competition came in July 2025 during the Fly-Off event in the UK, where all 42 teams brought their designs to life. O.L.I.V.I.A. demonstrated exceptional performance during the flight mission, which included a manual take-off followed by a fully autonomous sequence: navigating waypoints, executing a successful payload drop, completing two efficiency laps (flight paths without payload to test energy optimization), and concluding with a smooth autonomous landing.
The aircraft’s reliability and stability in flight were matched by the team’s calm, professional demeanour under pressure—an especially notable achievement for a team participating in the UAS Challenge for the first time.
Recognition Beyond Ranking
Fly-Mi EUROAVIA Milano’s 3rd place finish was a result of both technical excellence and consistent performance across all phases of the competition, from rigorous design documentation to a strong showing in the air. In addition, the team was honored with the coveted Safety Award, recognizing their thorough approach to risk assessment, disciplined engineering practices, and a safety-first mindset throughout the design, construction, testing, and operation of O.L.I.V.I.A.
A Milestone Achievement
This result marks a major milestone for Fly-MI EUROAVIA Milano and for Politecnico di Milano’s aerospace student community. Competing for the first time against experienced international teams, they not only rose to the challenge but set a high standard for professionalism, innovation, and teamwork.
