TULSA, Okla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov 17, 2025--
Skyway Range, the premier test range operated by Osage LLC, has been selected as the official host site for the RoboNation’s 2026 Student Unmanned Aerial Systems (SUAS) Competition, one of the nation’s largest annual unmanned aerial systems competitions for university and high performing high school students. The event will be held September 14-17, 2026.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251117411420/en/
The annual competition draws hundreds of students, faculty, and industry leaders from across the United States and abroad to design, build, and fly autonomous aerial systems through complex real-world mission challenges. By hosting the event, Skyway Range will serve as the national stage for the next generation of innovators shaping the future of autonomous flight.
“This is an exciting opportunity for Skyway Range and the Osage Nation,” said Russell Goff, CEO of Osage LLC. “The decision to bring this competition here aligns with the Nation’s commitment to advancing UAS research, development, and manufacturing in the region. We’re proud to welcome these students and educators to Skyway Range and hope to use this platform to inspire the next generation of innovators within our native communities and throughout the world.”
Skyway Range, located in northeastern Oklahoma, provides a uniquely equipped environment for testing and demonstration of uncrewed and autonomous aircraft systems. The facility integrates 1,200 square miles of diverse outdoor environments with WindShape’s state-of-the-art indoor controlled environment testing facility.
“RoboNation is proud to partner with Skyway Range and the Osage Nation to bring the SUAS Competition to Oklahoma for the first time,” said Daryl Davidson, President and CEO of RoboNation. “RoboNation is committed to building the skilled workforce required for an increasingly autonomous world; to do this, we are focused on bridging education and industry through real, mission-driven experience. The SUAS Competition serves as a proving ground where emerging engineers confront real-world engineering demands, mission planning, and operational constraints.”
Bringing the event to Skyway Range elevates this standard even further. Students will operate in a national-level test environment, gaining exposure to advanced unmanned flight capabilities and research infrastructure. This partnership reflects a shared commitment to workforce development by engaging the next generation who will define the future of autonomous systems.
The 2026 RoboNation SUAS Competition is expected to draw more than 70 University and High School teams from across the world. Additional details, including registration information and event logistics, can be found at https://suas-competition.org.
About Osage LLC
Osage LLC is a division of the Osage Nation, a federally recognized Native American tribal government with headquarters in Pawhuska, Oklahoma. Established in 2008 to build economic prosperity for the Nation and its people, Osage LLC serves as an economic driver for the Osage Nation, identifying and cultivating long-term strategic partnerships that enhance their effectiveness in expanding the economic footprint of the Osage Nation. For more information, visit osagellc.com
About Skyway Range
Skyway Range operates a 1,200-square-mile beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) uncrewed flight test range originally developed in partnership with Osage LLC, Oklahoma State University, and Tulsa Innovation Labs. With 4 droneports and diverse testing conditions in both rural and urban settings, Skyway Range has become a cornerstone of the nation's uncrewed aircraft infrastructure. For more information, visit skywayrange.com.
About RoboNation
RoboNation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to hands-on robotics and STEM education. Their mission is to provide a pathway of real-world educational experiences that empower students to develop innovative solutions to global challenges. Through a diverse portfolio of robotics programs—spanning K-12 to university levels and including underwater, surface, aerial and ground domains—they engage learners in building, testing and competing with advanced systems. By linking students, educators and industry, RoboNation helps prepare the next generation of engineers, makers and leaders in technology. For more information, visit https://robonation.org.
Skyway Range operates a 1,200-square-mile beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) uncrewed flight test range originally developed in partnership with Osage LLC, Oklahoma State University, and Tulsa Innovation Labs.
Skyway Range, the premier test range operated by Osage LLC, has been selected as the official host site for the RoboNation’s 2026 Student Unmanned Aerial Systems (SUAS) Competition, one of the nation’s largest annual unmanned aerial systems competitions for university and high performing high school students.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran kept up its attacks on Persian Gulf neighbors on Wednesday as airstrikes pounded Tehran, while U.S. President Donald Trump again made contradictory statements about whether he was ready to wind down the war or escalate it.
Trump struck a hard line Wednesday in a Truth Social post, demanding that Iran stop blocking the Strait of Hormuz — the waterway vital to global oil supplies — or the U.S. would bomb the Islamic Republic “back to the Stone Ages.” A day earlier, Trump said the U.S. “will not have anything to do with” ensuring the security of ships passing through Hormuz; that was an apparent backtrack from an earlier threat to attack Iran's power grid and other infrastructure if it didn't open the strait by April 6.
Trump, who is scheduled to give a televised address Wednesday evening, said Tuesday he could walk away from the war in two to three weeks once he felt confident Iran would not be able to build a nuclear weapon — even if Tehran does not agree to a ceasefire.
But his latest Truth Social post struck a more belligerent tone as more American troops move into the region for a possible ground offensive after weeks of airstrikes targeting Iran.
Trump also claimed Wednesday that “Iran's New Regime President” wanted a ceasefire. It wasn't clear to whom the U.S. president was referring since Iran still has the same president. Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Esmail Baghaei, called Trump's claim “false and baseless,” according to a report on Iranian state television.
Speaking earlier to Al Jazeera, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi signaled Tehran’s willingness to keep fighting. “You cannot speak to the people of Iran in the language of threats and deadlines,” he said. “We do not set any deadline for defending ourselves.”
Since the war began on Feb. 28, Trump has offered shifting objectives and repeatedly has said it could be over soon while also threatening to widen the conflict. Thousands of additional U.S. troops are currently heading to the Middle East, and speculation abounds about the purpose of their deployment.
Just days ago, Trump threatened to attack Iran’s Kharg Island oil export hub. And there has also been speculation about whether the U.S. could decide to send in military forces to secure Iran’s uranium stockpile — a complex and risky operation, fraught with radiation and chemical dangers, according to experts and former government officials.
Adding to the confusion is what role Israel - which has been bombing Iran alongside the U.S. — might play in any of these scenarios.
Trump has been under growing pressure to end the war as oil prices have skyrocketed, pushing up the cost of gasoline, food and other goods. The spot price of Brent crude, the international standard, was up more than 40% since the start of the war, trading at more than $103 a barrel on Wednesday.
A fifth of the world’s traded oil passes through the strait in peacetime, and even if it were to reopen quickly, some effects like higher food prices could persist for months or longer.
The U.S. has presented Iran with a 15-point plan aimed at bringing about a ceasefire, including a demand for the strait to be reopened and for its nuclear program to be rolled back.
Iran insists its nuclear program is peaceful. Its own five-point response includes retaining sovereignty over the strait.
In the interview with Al Jazeera, Araghchi acknowledged receiving direct messages from U.S. Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff. He insisted, however, that there were no direct negotiations and said Iran has no faith that talks with the U.S. could yield any results, saying “the trust level is at zero.”
He warned against any U.S. attempt to launch a ground offensive, saying “we are waiting for them.”
A cruise missile slammed into an oil tanker off Qatar’s coast Wednesday, the Defense Ministry said. The 21-member crew of the tanker, contracted by state-owned QatarEnergy, was evacuated and no casualties were reported.
A fully-loaded Kuwaiti oil tanker came under attack off Dubai the day before, one of more than 20 ships attacked by Iran during the war.
In the United Arab Emirates, a person was killed when he was hit by debris from an intercepted drone in Fujairah, one of the country’s seven emirates.
Bahrain sounded two alerts for incoming missiles, while Kuwait’s state-run KUNA news agency said a drone hit a fuel tank at Kuwait International Airport, sparking a large fire.
Jordan’s military said it intercepted a ballistic missile and two drones fired from Iran in the last 24 hours. No casualties were reported. Two drones were also intercepted in Saudi Arabia, and air raid sirens sounded in Israel though there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.
An airstrike on Tehran, meanwhile, appeared to have hit the former U.S. Embassy compound, which has been controlled by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard since American diplomats were held hostage there in 1979.
Witnesses said buildings outside the massive compound had their windows blown out and that it appears the strike happened inside the walled facility.
Israel also said it hit a plant in Iran producing fentanyl, a synthetic opioid. Israel and the United States have alleged in recent years that Iran was experimenting with using fentanyl in chemical weapons.
Iran acknowledged a strike Tuesday on Tofigh Daru factory, but insisted it only supplied “hospital drugs.” Hospitals use fentanyl to treat severe pain but it can also be fatal.
In Lebanon, at least five people were killed in an Israeli strike on a Beirut neighborhood.
Israel invaded southern Lebanon after the Iran-linked Hezbollah militant group began launching missiles into northern Israel days after the outbreak of the war. Many Lebanese fear another prolonged military occupation.
More than 1,200 people have been killed in Lebanon and more than 1 million displaced, according to authorities. Ten Israeli soldiers have also died there.
In Iran, authorities say more than 1,900 people have been killed, while 19 have been reported dead in Israel. More than two dozen people have died in Gulf states and the occupied West Bank, while 13 U.S. service members have been killed.
Rising reported from Bangkok. Associated Press writers Giovanna Dell’Orto in Miami and Samy Magdy in Cairo contributed to this report.
A young girl is comforted by her father and Israeli soldiers as they take cover in a bomb shelter during air raid sirens warning of incoming Iranian missile strikes in Bnei Brak, Israel, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
People inspect the site of an Israeli strike amid debris and damaged vehicles in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
A man feeds stray cats in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
The Indian flagged LPG carrier Jag Vasant transporting liquefied petroleum gas, is seen at the Mumbai Port in Mumbai, India, after it arrived clearing the Strait of Hormuz, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
Firefighters and rescue workers work at the site of Israeli airstrikes, in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
A firefighter extinguishes a car at the site of Israeli airstrikes, in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Israel's rescue teams and residents take shelter as sirens sounds next to a site struck by an Iranian missile in Bnei Brak, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
A police vehicle is seen through a shattered windshield at the site of an Israeli strike in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Two men ride scooters past charred debris at the site of an Israeli strike in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
