The finals of the 2025 China Universities Aircraft Design Competition (CUADC) recently concluded in Deqing, Zhejiang Province.

After eight days of competition, participating teams from the Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) achieved remarkable results, winning one Best Creativity Award and several national honors, including one special prize, three second prizes, and three third prizes, as well as one provincial first prize and two provincial third prizes—a record for the University.

The CUADC is currently the largest, most competitive, and highest-level university aircraft design competition in the world. This year, nearly 700 teams from 128 universities, comprising more than 3,000 students, advanced to the finals.

SUSTech’s teams, formed under the University’s Aeromodelling Association (SUSTech AMA) and guided by Lecturer Lihao GAO from the Department of Mechanics and Aerospace Engineering, competed across five events.

Notably, this year marked the University’s debut in the most challenging event, the drone precision airdrop, showcasing the teams’ overall technical progress.

During preparation, students carried out disruptive technological innovations under the guidance of their instructor. They employed 3D printing to construct large-scale cargo aircraft, pioneering a new manufacturing approach beyond traditional wooden structures and carbon fiber composites. This method combines high production efficiency, lightweight structures, and strong payload capacity, giving SUSTech a competitive edge.

The resulting unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) design received high recognition from industry experts during the design report evaluation, earning the special prize—the University’s first-ever design award and its highest-level honor in the competition.

For the precision airdrop event, teams were required to power their UAVs using small-displacement piston engines with electric start capability.

SUSTech’s team introduced an innovative parallel hybrid power system, combining a two-stage reduction transmission with an outer-rotor brushless motor. Compared with traditional single-stage high-reduction transmissions, this system delivers higher transmission efficiency, improved structural reliability, and faster engine start-up, ensuring stable flight performance.

In addition to the power system, SUSTech’s precision airdrop UAV integrates a 3D-printed structural framework, a new payload loading method, and an innovative release mechanism, forming a completely new UAV platform. This achievement earned the team the only Best Creativity Award for the event, one of only six awarded among hundreds of competing teams.

To date, SUSTech has accumulated 19 awards in the CUADC. The University has also secured approval for six university-level innovation and entrepreneurship training programs and climbing plan projects related to the competition.