71,207 drones broke world record in Texas using Chinese expertise and intriguing 'drone-in-a-box' concept — Shenzhen-based Damoda teamed with Sky Elements to bring 10000-strong dragon to life

Sky Elements and Damoda launched 71,207 drones during the record attempt A formation of 10,183 drones created the record-breaking blue dragon Each performance involved approximately 10,200 drones flying several times daily Sky Elements teamed up with Damoda America in rural Texas to secure two Guinn

<![CDATA[ <article> <ul><li><strong>Sky Elements and Damoda launched 71,207 drones during the record attempt</strong></li><li><strong>A formation of 10,183 drones created the record-breaking blue dragon</strong></li><li><strong>Each performance involved approximately 10,200 drones flying several times daily</strong></li></ul><p>Sky Elements teamed up with Damoda America in rural Texas to secure <a href="https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/commercial/2026/10/texan-night-sky-lit-up-with-over-70000-drones-during-record-breaking-aerial-performance" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">two Guinness World Records</a>, launching a total of 71,207 drones within one week.</p><p>That weekly total surpassed the previous record of 55,939 launches, set earlier in 2026 by Aerial Illuminations and UVify.</p><p>On September 28 2026, the teams used 10,183 drones to form a giant blue dragon, breaking the record for the largest mythical creature depicted by multirotors.</p><h2 id="shenzhen-engineers-bring-charging-launch-trays">Shenzhen engineers bring charging launch trays</h2><p>Damoda supplied the hardware and sent specialists from its Shenzhen base to work alongside American operators from Sky Elements throughout the three nights.</p><p>Sky Elements sought out Damoda for both titles because the manufacturer offers launch equipment that differs from regular setups in how each aircraft gets positioned.</p><p>Crews normally place each <a href="https://www.techradar.com/cameras/drones/best-drone">drone</a> by hand, whereas Damoda units arrive in trays that store and charge them and receive each aircraft after landing.</p><p>The system simplifies transport and warehousing, since every aircraft departs from one dedicated tray and returns there after completing its flight.</p><p>Their assignment was to help the Texas crews handle faults as they arose during repeated launches of a fleet that exceeded 10,000 aircraft.</p><p>The dragon glowed in electric blue and served as the centrepiece of a programme that also featured oceanic scenes, two astronauts and a lion.</p><p>The entire event unfolded at a remote farm with few residents nearby, where the crews operated the whole fleet from one site.</p><p>Every performance involved about 10,200 drones, a volume that the crews found demanding because the fleet flew several times each day.</p><p>A thunderstorm struck after the opening show on 27 September, yet the remaining performances continued and ran through the closing night on 30 September.</p><p>“This was easily one of the most challenging drone attempts I’ve adjudicated, with the weather and the sheer scale of 10,000 drones flying multiple times a day,” said Michael Empric, the adjudicator who oversaw the attempts for Guinness.</p><p>“Yet after several very long nights (and early mornings), it was great to see everything finally come together with five successful shows on the final night.”</p><h2 id="fleet-and-dragon-breaks-previous-records">Fleet and Dragon breaks previous records</h2><p>The dragon display broke a mark of 2,247 drones set on the final day of 2025 by an Emirati tourism authority and the emirate itself.</p><p>The new weekly total exceeded the earlier figure by 15,268 drones, while the dragon formation surpassed the Emirati mark by 7,936 aircraft.</p><p>Sky Elements already holds other titles, among them a gingerbread village built from 4,981 drones and a fictional figure made from 4,979.</p><p>Its other entries include a cowboy hat image made from 519 drones and an animation that lasted 30 minutes, the longest by unmanned aircraft.</p><p>Though an adjudicator attended the attempts, no independent data in the available account shows how reliably the tray system handles storms or daily launches.</p><figure class="van-image-figure inline-layout" data-bordeaux-image-check ><div class='image-full-width-wrapper'><div class='image-widthsetter' style="max-width:676px;"><p class="vanilla-image-block" style="padding-top:31.51%;"><img id="diM9tpwF2Lz85R8q85CT78" name="tr-g_news" alt="Google logo on a black background next to text reading 'Click to follow TechRadar'" src="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/diM9tpwF2Lz85R8q85CT78-1920-80.jpg" mos="" align="middle" fullscreen="" width="676" height="213" attribution="" endorsement="" class="inline"></p></div></div></figure> </article> ]]>