Oak Grove launches military-style FPV challenge in North Carolina

Oak Grove Technologies turned its Hoffman facility into something closer to a training lane than a standard racecourse, with four purpose-built challenge lanes and a civilian field capped at five pilots for its inaugural Military Challenge. The May 15 event in Hoffman, North Carolina, was built to test FPV skills tied directly to modern military operations, and civilians who entered were not eligible for the military challenge prizes.

The format made the race stand out immediately. Oak Grove said the challenge was intended primarily for active military personnel, while JSOA provided lunch for donations, giving the event a small public-facing element inside an otherwise mission-focused setup. The Military Challenge also sat inside Central NC Drone Racing’s 2026 Spring and Summer Series, which gave the meet a place in a larger competitive calendar rather than leaving it as a one-off demonstration.

The setting helps explain why Oak Grove keeps pushing this model. Its test and training center covers more than 300 acres near Fort Bragg and next to Camp Mackall, and the company uses the site for innovation, prototyping, testing, training and mission rehearsal. Oak Grove says the property supports ISR training, electronic warfare training, a cyber range, a multi-story shoot house and a bunkerhouse, all of which make the airspace feel designed for precision under pressure.

That training-first identity now reaches into racing through OakGroveUxS, which says it offers FPV courses for military, law-enforcement and civilian professionals. The team behind it includes Eli Monroe, a retired Green Beret who leads unmanned systems work, Daniel Nunley, another retired Green Beret and operations manager, Steve Mashburn, a former Marine Corps infantryman and Marine Special Operations Critical Skills Operator, and Tony Bracco, an FPV pilot and lead instructor. Jeremy Young serves as program manager for defense programs, reinforcing how closely Oak Grove links racing to operational instruction.

The Military Challenge also builds on an established race ecosystem. Oak Grove’s 4th Annual Raptor Drone Race was scheduled for May 15-17 at the same Hoffman center, with Military Challenge Day, MultiGP Race Day, global qualifiers, a shared prize table and evening social events. In 2025, the Raptor Race offered $3,000 in cash prizes, separate top civilian and top active-duty military awards, a civilian amateur category and novelty honors such as Best Crash and Fastest Lap. A 2023 Hoffman challenge had a $15 entry fee, $1,000 in prizes and separate civilian and active-duty divisions.

MultiGP’s wider footprint gives the move added weight. The league says it has more than 30,000 registered pilots and over 500 active chapters worldwide, and its 2026 Regional Series runs qualifiers from March 1 to July 15 before regional finals in August and September. In that context, Oak Grove’s Military Challenge was more than a local race: it was a clear attempt to make FPV competition look, and function, like real-world readiness.