Texan night sky lit up with over 70,000 drones during record-breaking aerial performance
For three nights, the sky in Blue Ridge, Texas, USA was filled with a stunning display of aerial images – resembling everything from fire-breathing dragons to mobile fish in aquatic landscapes.
In the hunt for two new ambitious Guinness World Records titles, repeat record holders Sky Elements Drone Shows had teamed up with Damoda America (both USA) to perform a three-day technological spectacle, and they had pulled out all the stops.
During their three shows between 27-30 September, the teams used a mind-blowing 71,207 drones to take the title for the most multirotors/drones launched in a week – smashing a record set previously this year by Aerial Illuminations Drone Shows and UVify (both USA) with 55,939.
And with the duo’s giant, blue-lightning coloured dragon, they were also able to claim the title on 28 September for the largest aerial display of a mythical creature formed by multirotors/drones.
10,183 individual aircraft were used for the attempt, breaking the record of 2,247 set by the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah and the Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority (both UAE) on 31 December 2025.
Sky Elements have broken many Guinness World Records titles over the years, including: the largest aerial display of a Gingerbread Village image and fictional character formed by multirotors/drones (4,981 and 4,979, respectively), the largest aerial image of a cowboy hat (519 drones), and the longest animation performed by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), lasting 30 minutes.
Yet to break these two new titles, they reached out to drone manufacturer Damoda, who offers some unique technology.
Specifically, instead of each drone being placed by hand in a launch formation, the Damoda drones come in “boxes”, similar to large trays. These boxes allow easier distribution and storage, along with charging ability, with each drone taking off and returning to the same box.
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During the attempts, everything took place on a farm in a sparsely populated area, with Guinness World Records Adjudicator Michael Empric present to make sure that all went according to plan.
Each show had approximately 10,200 drones per performance, which was a significant challenge for the teams to deal with – but nevertheless, the Damoda team brought in some of their best minds from Shenzhen, China, and together with the Sky Elements crew they were able to stay on top of any potential problems.
They were able to pull off their first show on Sunday, 27 September, before a massive thunderstorm rolled in… and throughout the rest of their performances, the drones moved in magical alignment to successfully claim the two records.
“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. “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.”
So congratulations to Sky Elements and Damoda for taking these two well-deserved titles – you are Officially Amazing!