Google Drone Delivery Company Expands Aircraft Fleet

The Alphabet-owned company Wing is adding aircraft to its fleet to keep up with customer demand by simplifying and streamlining larger orders. 

Wing has completed more than 350,000 deliveries and from each delivery the drones learn, said Wing CEO Adam Woodworth. Google is the parent company of Alphabet. 

Wing’s latest design allows for fulfillment of larger orders beyond what fits on one done.

While its existing fleet can carry up to two and a half, the newest flying vehicle has the same roundtrip range of 12 miles at 65 mph but can carry a payload of up to five pounds. 

Wing found that 70% of its U.S. orders are delivered by one of the company’s flying vehicles, while 30% are delivered by two. Adding this newer aircraft to its fleet will better serve that 30% and help Wing better optimize its business, Woodworth said. 

“Think of it like how airlines operate different aircraft for different routes: This new aircraft will streamline our deliveries of larger orders,” Woodworth said. “For example, you could order last-minute ingredients for dinner - pasta, marinara sauce, parmesan cheese, canned olives and garlic.”

Because drone delivery is not simply one-size-fits-all, Woodworth said the company is taking what he calls an “aircraft library” approach to aircraft development. 

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“Our team works on a variety of configurations and builds on core components we already use for our flight-proven aircraft,” he said. “When we identify a need in the market—like a larger aircraft for larger orders— we can adapt our design to quickly and efficiently meet that need.”

Woodworth said Wing’s vision has always been to implement a “multimodal drone delivery model” like how ground delivery has different vehicle sizes based on different order sizes. 

“We’re committed to making that vision a reality so more shoppers can experience the convenience of drone delivery,” he said. “With the new aircraft carrying more food, medicine and household essentials, customers in urban and suburban areas will be able to bundle their orders better — and receive them in one quick trip.”