The best young engineers in the UK will design and build an Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS), also known as a drone, as part of the annual competition run by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.

An unmanned aircraft system, also known as a drone, is an aircraft without a human pilot on-board. They are predominantly known for their use in military and special operations, such as delivering humanitarian aid.

The competition will see some of the UK’s best young engineers develop their drones before taking on other teams in a ‘fly-off’, where they will be challenged to transport a package as accurately and rapidly as possible.

John Turton, chairman of the UAS Challenge, said: “The event has been set up to give students real world engineering experience before they leave university. The competition also offers recruitment opportunities for employers.

“The Challenge helps students to learn more about practical aerospace engineering skills as well as develop connections with other like-minded students from other universities.

“The competition directly supports the Institution's objectives of inspiring young people about engineering while raising awareness of engineering and increasing the profile of the Institution.”

The universities confirmed to be taking part are:

• University of Surrey

• Sheffield Hallam University

• University of Bath

• Loughborough University

• University of Glasgow

• University of Nottingham

• Swansea University

• University of Manchester

• University of Southampton (four teams)

• University of Liverpool (two teams)

• University of the West of England

• University of Sheffield

• Egypt team (Military Technical College, Kafr El-Sheikh University and Tanta University

Now in its second year, the UAS Challenge is the fourth student engineering challenge event run by the Institution, following Formula Student, the Railway Challenge and the Design Challenge.

The event will be taking place at Pershore Airfield near Worcester on the 6 and 7 July 2016.

The UAS Challenge welcomes Northrop Grumman, Thales and Siemens as Gold Sponsors for the event.