Zipline, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) medical delivery service, is seeking to establish a humanitarian operation in the United States to deliver personal protective equipment (PPE) and medication to civilian hospitals in response to coronavirus (Covid-19).
Justin Hamilton, the company’s head of global communications, said on 24 April that Zipline is making good progress in talks with the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and that it could start delivery in a couple of weeks once its plans are approved. Zipline would likely start operations in North Carolina as the company was already planning a commercial launch in the region and has health sector partners lined up. This would be Zipline’s first US delivery operation.
Zipline wants to set up its first US operation in response to Covid-19. The company is already operating in Rwanda and Ghana. (Zipline)
Hamilton said the FAA, also has a special programme in the North Carolina region that allows more commercial UAV efforts than in other parts of the US. He said Zipline has two facilities in California for research and development (R&D) and testing that are exact replicas of the company’s commercial UAV delivery operations internationally. Zipline’s domestic operation would be the one it developed for the Pentagon’s Defense Innovation Unit (DIU).
“We know how to help, we are helping other countries, we believe we can help the US, and we are ready to serve if called upon,” Hamilton said.
Hamilton said each distribution centre can serve an area of roughly 12,875 km 2 as its aircraft can fly a 161 km round trip. Zipline is already operating in Africa with two distribution centres in Rwanda delivering blood, vaccines, and other medications, and four centres in Ghana.
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