what drones are they using at the olympics

They’re using high-speed first-person-view (FPV) racing-style drones plus a smaller number of more traditional camera drones for aerial shots at the 2026 Milan–Cortina Winter Olympics.

Quick Scoop: What drones are they using?

• FPV “follow-cam” drones that fly right behind or beside athletes to give a POV, “athlete’s‑eye” view of races and jumps.

• Traditional camera drones (multi-rotor rigs) for smooth, high, wide aerial shots of venues and landscapes.

• The Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS) is running around 25 FPV drones and about 10 traditional drones , as part of a pool of more than 800 camera systems.

• FPV drones are used in Alpine skiing, luge, speed skating, freestyle skiing and snowboarding , especially in high-speed or big-air sections.

• These are largely custom-built FPV rigs , not off‑the‑shelf consumer drones, tuned for speed, stability, and broadcast‑grade video.

How these Olympic drones are set up

• Many FPV drones are custom builds with inverted propellers (props on the underside) to improve aerodynamics and smooth flight curves on twisting tracks.

• They can hit roughly 70–75 mph while still sending back stabilized broadcast footage.

• Batteries are optimized for cold: they usually last about two athlete runs in freezing conditions before they’re swapped.

• Each drone typically has a three‑person team : a pilot, a camera operator/director, and a technician for safety and systems.

Mini tech angle

• FPV cameras stream live video to the pilot’s goggles so they fly as if they’re “inside” the drone, matching the athlete’s line down the course.

• The footage plugs into an AI‑enhanced replay system that can generate 360‑degree replays and stroboscopic “afterimage” sequences of tricks within seconds.

Why everyone’s talking about them

• Viewers at home get dramatic chase‑cam views that used to be impossible without helicopters or cable cams.

• The IOC and IOC‑linked broadcasters have called FPV drones a “game changer” for speed events because they keep up with skiers and lugers over long stretches.

• On social media and forums, people are comparing these shots to video game chase cams or action‑sports POV edits , saying it makes runs feel much faster and more intense.

Concerns from athletes and fans

• Some athletes and coaches worry that drones flying within about a meter might distract competitors or affect performance, especially in technical sections.

• Spectators in venues have complained about drone noise cutting into the natural sounds of the event.

• Safety is a recurring topic because of past incidents with drones at ski events; stricter rules and OBS‑only operations are meant to reduce risk.

Forum / discussion flavor

“It feels like you’re literally strapped to the back of the skier now. Cool for TV, maybe not so cool if you’re the one racing with a buzzing robot a meter behind you.”

Expect the conversation to keep trending around:

• Whether drones make coverage too “gimmicky” or genuinely better.
• If FPV piloting should be treated as its own pro‑level skill , given the speeds and tight courses.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.