“After years of stalled experiments and regulatory hurdles, drone delivery is beginning to take flight in the US.

Chipotle in August began teaming up with drone delivery and logistics provider Zipline to ensure Dallas area fans can get their burritos and bowls delivered — anytime, and almost any place. In June, GoTo Foods partnered with DoorDash and Wing to bring items from its portfolio of brands, including Auntie Anne’s and Jamba, to three Texas markets: Frisco, Fort Worth, and Plano.

The pilot programs build upon short-lived drone delivery experiments from other brands that have been rolled out and subsequently discontinued over the last decade, like the Flytrex and El Pollo Loco partnership, which briefly took to the skies in 2021.

This moment, however, seems to be different, five industry insiders told Business Insider…

Although drone technology has become increasingly useful to the commercial sector in recent years due to technological advancements, the recent momentum isn’t thanks to better hardware alone — it’s also due to the regulatory climate.

L.R. Fox is the founder and CEO of WhiteFox Defense Technologies and vice chair of the US Chamber of Commerce Drone Committee. He told Business Insider that a June executive order signed by President Donald Trump was a catalytic moment for the industry. It signaled a path forward and broke through an otherwise complicated web of federal regulations that had prevented widespread adoption.”

From Business Insider.