Amazon Prime Video, Swatch, FORTO Coffee Shots and the United States Air Force have joined Allianz, which became the title sponsor of DRL's elite race circuit in February, and Toy State, which sells high-performance Nikko Air racing drones.

"We're incredibly proud to announce new partners and investors aligning with DRL to solidify drone racing as the sport of the future," Nicholas Horbaczewski, chief executive and founder of DRL, was reported as saying by the Sports Industry Group.

"Over the past 18 months, we've committed to building a technology company that can capture the imagination of new sports fans around the world.

"The support we have from some of the most respected brands and investors is helping us rapidly realise that vision."

The new DRL season is due to begin at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami on June 20 and will be broadcast in more than 75 countries around the world.

Broadcast partners include Sky Sports, ProSiebenSat.1, Disney XD and OSN.

DRL has also announced the close of a "Series B investment round", with total financing of more than $20 million (£16 million/€18  million), led by Sky, Liberty Media Corporation and Lux Capital.

As well as Liberty Media Corporation, DRL also added new investors Allianz and World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).

Professional drone racing made its debut in the United Kingdom on Tuesday (June 13).

It marked the last race of the Allianz 2017 World Championship series, which included six races to test piloting skill and the limits of First Person View (FPV) flight prior to the DRL season. 

The event at iconic London venue Alexandra Palace came despite the World Air Sports Federation (FAI) and European Air Sports (EAS) claiming last year that the advent of multi-rotor "drones" has created a number of problems in member states.

The FAI and EAS have expressed concerns about the safety of aircraft being used in the DRL.

In a joint statement responding to EAS prototype rules for unmanned aircraft, the two bodies said: "These aircraft have functionality and performance capability not found in conventional model aircraft."

It continued: "The result of this is that they can be successfully operated by virtually anyone, without the need for training or instruction and in locations which would be inappropriate for most model aircraft.

"As such, many pilots operating these aircraft are outside of the model flying community and, therefore, do not benefit from the advice, guidance and insurance they would otherwise receive.

"This has resulted in a number of reported incidents involving 'drones' being operated unlawfully in unsuitable environments and reports of conflict with manned aviation."

DRL is the premier drone racing league and sees FPV drone racing pilots fly high-speed drones at iconic locations around the world.

Pilots wear goggles that display a real-time video feed from an on-board camera.

A DRL drone race is scored based on a combination of completion time and checkpoints.

Each DRL drone is custom designed and built by DRL engineers to exacting standards of speed, performance, and endurance, and optimised for drone racing, it is claimed.