Zipline (delivery drone)

Zipline’s delivery drone, often simply called Zipline, is a fixed‑wing unmanned aircraft developed by Zipline International, a California‑based company founded in 2014 by Keenan Wyrobek and Keller Rinaudo. After a prototype phase, the system entered commercial service in 2016 in Rwanda, where it began autonomously delivering blood products, vaccines and medications to remote health facilities. Since then the network has expanded to Ghana, the United States and several Asian markets, transporting more than 1.5 million units of medical supplies.

The drone features a lightweight carbon‑fiber airframe, a 4‑kilowatt electric motor, and a catapult launch that eliminates the need for a runway. It can fly up to 160 km‑h, cover a 80‑kilometre round‑trip, and carry payloads of up to 1.75 kilograms. Navigation relies on GPS‑based autonomous flight software, while a parachute recovery system ensures safe landings in rugged terrain. Ground stations handle order processing, flight planning and real‑time telemetry.

Zipline’s significance lies in demonstrating that high‑frequency, autonomous, long‑range delivery is viable at scale, reshaping logistics for healthcare and setting regulatory precedents for commercial drone operations worldwide. Its success has accelerated investment in UAV infrastructure and inspired new models for rapid, low‑cost aerial supply chains.