GoAero Round-2 Winners
“A New Breed of Lifesaving Aircraft”: GoAero Competition Announces Round-2 Winners
The future of search-and-rescue aviation became clearer on December 3rd, 2025, when NASA, RTX, and Honeywell jointly announced the Round-2 winners of the GoAero emergency-response eVTOL competition. This global challenge is one of the most ambitious attempts to redefine how disaster response, medical evacuation, and rural emergency access will operate in the coming decade.
Eight teams were awarded $320,000 each to continue perfecting their prototype lifesaving aircraft. Unlike commercial ride-sharing eVTOLs, these designs prioritize ruggedness, reliability, and extreme-condition performance. Some models focus on mountain rescues; others specialize in rapid medical extraction from remote locations, making this competition one of the most diverse innovation hubs in modern aviation.
Each team’s aircraft is required to perform demanding missions such as autonomous casualty retrieval, difficult-landscape maneuvering, and swift medical transport. What makes GoAero unique is that it invites not only aerospace giants but also university groups, young engineering teams, and humanitarian-focused innovators to compete on equal footing.
This year’s winners demonstrated dramatic improvements in battery efficiency, vertical-lift performance, and emergency response accuracy. Many of the aircraft include hybrid-powered systems to extend rescue range, while others incorporate AI-assisted flight controls designed to operate in chaotic disaster zones where traditional helicopters struggle.
NASA emphasizes that GoAero is more than a competition — it is a mission to democratize emergency flight capability. With natural disasters increasing globally and rural areas often lacking fast-response resources, electric vertical-lift aircraft offer a life-changing solution. The prototypes being tested today could be standard rescue tools by the mid-2030s.
Round-3 will push teams into more complex flight demonstrations, hardware integrations, and autonomous rescue simulations. It is expected to be the most challenging phase yet — and the most revealing. The final winners will not only earn financial awards but potentially shape an entirely new emergency aviation sector.
Writer’s Thought
This year’s GoAero breakthroughs show us that the most powerful use of advanced aviation isn’t luxury — it’s saving lives. Watching these innovators push boundaries reminds us that the future of flight is deeply human at its core.
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Do you believe eVTOL rescue aircraft will eventually replace traditional helicopters in emergency missions? Share your thoughts in the comments — let’s talk!





