Drone delivery company Wing, a subsidiary of Google parent company Alphabet Inc., has received Air Carrier Certification from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), enabling the company to begin commercial service delivering goods to homes via drone.
“This is an important step forward for the safe testing and integration of drones into our economy,” said U.S. Secretary of Transportation, Elaine L. Chao. “Safety continues to be our number one priority as this technology continues to develop and realize its full potential.”
“Our drones have flown over 70,000 test flights and more than 3,000 deliveries to doorsteps, driveways and backyards of our customers in Australia,” according to a Wing release. “Our next steps will be to further our participation in the UAS [Integration Pilot Program] in southwest Virginia.”
The company says it will begin working with businesses and the community in the Blacksburg and Christiansburg, Va., areas to demonstrate its technology and assess its operations, “with the goal of launching a delivery trial later this year.”
“Wing has worked for six years to build a small, lightweight aircraft and navigational system that can safely deliver small packages on demand to specific destinations in only a few minutes,” the company says. “Air Carrier Certification is an important step that will ultimately allow us to create air delivery services for communities in America.”
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