Wing Aviation LLC, Alphabet Inc.’s drone delivery subsidiary, today announced that it has received regulatory authorization to make commercial flights in the United States.

Securing the approval required the group to get certified as an air carrier by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration. As part of the process, Wing developed safety procedures, created training materials and completed several of the other steps that regular airlines go through. It also submitted data to show that making a delivery with one of its drones carries lower risks than using a car.

Much of the safety information Wing shared with the FAA likely came from the trials it has been conducting in Canberra, Australia, for the past 18 months. The group’s drones have made more than 3,000 shipments in the city to date, bringing out everyday items such as groceries and takeout to residents’ homes.

Wing is now looking to set up a similar pilot program in the U.S. Over the next few months, the Alphabet subsidiary will partner with local businesses in the rural Virginia towns of Blacksburg and Christiansburg to start offering drone delivery for residents. The effort will presumably see the group build the same kind of aviation infrastructure that it has set up in Australia to support its operations.

In Canberra, Wing operates several dozen drones out of a dedicated depot and uses an internally developed software platform to coordinate flights. The drones, which take off vertically, can deliver packages within a 6.2-mile radius of the hub. Blacksburg and Christiansburg are a few minutes’ drive from each other, which may have been a factor behind why Wing chose the towns for the trial: The group can likely cover both locations with a single facility.

In addition to the U.S. and Australia, the Alphabet subsidiary plans to bring its drones to Finland. A few months ago, Wing announced plans to start deliveries in the country’s capital of Helsinki this spring.

Photo: Wing