Michigan to Hold First-of-its-Kind Uncrewed Triple Challenge on May 20 Across Sea, Air and Land

LANSING, Mich. – The Uncrewed Triple Challenge (UTC), a state-sponsored first-of-its-kind competition across sea, air and land that is driving innovation in autonomous drone technology, will hold an opening ceremony for the competition at 9 a.m. on May 20 at the Alpena Harbor Bay View Park Bandshell in Lake Huron’s Thunder Bay. The ceremony will include remarks by U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Paul D. Rogers, Michigan Department of Transportation Director Bradley C. Wieferich and Alpena Mayor Cindy Johnson, a performance by the 126th Army Band of the Michigan National Guard, a military flyover, food trucks, science and technology displays and a viewing area to watch the competition unfold. The race will start at 9:30 a.m. The air and land segment of the competition will conclude between 1-5:30 p.m. at the Parade Field Finish Line at Camp Grayling Joint Maneuver Training Center (CGJMTC) located at 4 Howe Rd., Grayling, MI 49738. Members of the community can walk the Parade Field while listening to music provided by local station Q100 and engage with military displays and community-based vendors as they watch the drones reach the finish line. The competition is open to the public and free to attend.

The UTC, in its inaugural year, will take place across Northern Michigan’s National All-Domain Warfighting Center (NADWC). The competition requires each team to move a package across sea, air or land using unmanned systems from point to point while encountering varying conditions and obstacles with no human intervention. The competition, which features participants from seven states and three countries, has three distinct courses and two transfer zones. The maritime course is located at the City of Alpena Harbor, runs out to a boat five nautical miles from the shore in Thunder Bay, and returns to the maritime transfer zone where teams will transition the payload for the air course. Following the water segment, teams will complete the air segment of the competition. The total distance of air travel is approximately 58.5 miles. Following the air segment, teams will complete the land segment as the final leg of the competition. The CGJMTC Combined Arms Collective Training Facility (CACTF) Soccer Field will be the final transfer zone, followed by 23.5 miles of land travel. The competition concludes at Camp Grayling’s Parade Field. The top three fastest overall times for the course will place on the competition podium with the winning team having the fastest overall time through the entire competition. Additionally, there are four awards for best in class: Best in Maritime, Best in Air, Best on Land and Best at Payload Transfer.

Community members may watch the competition from three viewing locations: Alpena Harbor in Lake Huron’s Thunder Bay, and two locations at CGJMTC, CACTF Soccer Field and Parade Field. CGJMTC will provide roundtrip bus transportation from the Parade Field to the CATCF Soccer Field to watch the package transfer.

To register to attend, visit Uncrewed Triple Challenge Registration. If you are unable to attend, you can watch the competition unfold via a live stream at Michigan National Guard - YouTube.

The UTC is sponsored by the Michigan Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, Michigan National Guard, Michigan Department of Transportation and Michigan Economic Development Corporation. To learn more, visit Uncrewed Triple Challenge.