The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is preparing to launch its inaugural Lift Challenge next week, aiming to advance heavy-lift drone technology. Both outlets report that DARPA will distribute a total of $6.5 million in prize funding for participating teams. The challenge is designed to push the limits of what unmanned systems can carry and how effectively they can perform heavy-lift missions, though the specific technical requirements and evaluation criteria were not detailed in the provided excerpts. The announcements come as DARPA continues to use prize competitions to stimulate rapid development and demonstrate new capabilities in defense-relevant technologies. With the Lift Challenge beginning next week, participating teams will enter a new competition track focused on scaling up drone lift performance. The reporting is consistent in describing the timing of the launch, the overall prize amount, and the purpose of the effort. Additional details such as participating categories, target payloads, timelines, and testing conditions are not included in the excerpts.