Wing, the drone-powered delivery company operated by Alphabet, plans to introduce a larger vessel capable of towing heavier packages to customers.
The news comes on the heels of Walmart’s decision to expand its drone deliveries to the Dallas-Fort Worth area, so it’s no wonder Wing is working to upgrade its inventory. the outfit is one of two companies facilitating Walmart’s drone delivery effort, alongside Zipline.
Walmart said last week that a quarter of items in its largest Supercenter stores do not meet current size and weight requirements for drone delivery. That’s not so surprising – Wing’s current drones can only handle packages weighing up to 2.5kg.
Wing’s larger drones, however, will handle “up to 5 pounds in a standard cardboard box,” the company told TechCrunch. They are awaiting approval from the US Federal Aviation Administration.
Image Credits: Screenshot by Harri Weber for TechCrunch
Notably, Amazon’s delivery drones also have a five-pound weight limit. The online shopping giant aims to expand its drone delivery effort to the UK and Italy in 2024.
Meanwhile, Wing said it plans to bring its own superyacht to market within the next year.
“It has always been our vision to implement a multi-modal drone delivery model,” Wing CEO Adam Woodworth said in a statement. “We are currently focused on launching the new aircraft and the Aircraft Library design philosophy enables us to test and build new drones based on customer and partner needs,” added Woodworth. For the CEO’s point of view, he has talked about expanding Wing’s fleet in the past.
When Wing’s drones arrive at their destination, they don’t land. Instead, they lower the lone packs onto a wire before touching them to the ground. So far, Wing claims to have completed 350,000 deliveries across three continents. In the US, the company says it has more than 1,000 crafts registered.
