Zipline medical drones begin flying in the US

The battery-powered drones launch from catapults and carry parachute boxes of up to four pounds. Upon return, they’re snagged from the air by drag wires. — Zipline

On the Friday before Memorial Day, a six-foot long, red-and-white drone took off from a field in Kannapolis, North Carolina, flew fifteen miles west over suburban Charlotte to Novant Health’s Huntersville Medical Center, and dropped a box of protective masks in a designated spot next to the parking lot.

The flight, about 30 minutes round-trip, marked the first US delivery for Zipline Inc, a California drone startup that has been transporting medical supplies in Rwanda and Ghana since 2016. It is, Zipline says, the longest commercial drone delivery route in the country.