The news
Walmart has signed a multi-year deal with Zipline to add 300 drone delivery sites across the US, with room for more. Walmart named no locations or rollout dates. The expansion comes as Walmart's drone program passes 2 million deliveries.
The 300 planned Zipline sites are more than four times the 66 stores across four states in Walmart's entire drone network in May.
Walmart is also working with Alphabet's Wing to reach more than 270 locations in 2027.
The details
The Zipline deal takes the partnership well beyond its original Walmart markets in Dallas-Fort Worth and Pea Ridge, Arkansas. The companies have worked together since 2021.
Wing is pursuing a similarly large expansion with Walmart. Its January announcement covered 150 additional stores within a year, building on existing service in Dallas-Fort Worth and Atlanta.
The planned expansion includes new markets such as Los Angeles, St. Louis, Cincinnati and Miami.
Both Zipline and Wing already serve Walmart customers around Dallas-Fort Worth, giving the retailer two drone partners in the same market.
Walmart’s delivery milestone also points to growing use of the service. It passed 1 million deliveries in May and has now passed 2 million, adding its second million in less than six months.
About 40% of the first million deliveries came in a single quarter, from February through April 2026.
Walmart describes drone delivery as its fastest same-day option. It is designed for small orders customers need within minutes.
The holdup
The 300-site agreement does not authorize Zipline to begin flying from all those locations. Each new site still needs the relevant FAA approvals, while local restrictions could add another layer of delays.
The FAA's proposed Part 108 rule would make flights beyond an operator's visual line of sight routine. The final rule has been under White House review since July, with publication hoped for by year-end.
Westborough, Massachusetts, voted 510-13 last month to restrict commercial drone launch sites. Amazon has withdrawn its proposed site plan, but the bylaw still needs state approval.
Worth noting
Walmart has scaled back a drone delivery plan before. In 2022, it announced plans for 34 DroneUp sites across six states by year-end. It finished the year with hubs at 36 stores across three drone partners.
In 2024, Walmart closed 18 DroneUp hubs in Arizona, Florida and Utah, shifting its focus to Dallas-Fort Worth. DroneUp's CEO said at the time a delivery could cost as much as $30.
What peers are doing
Amazon's Prime Air operated from 11 US sites in August and targets nearly 500 cities and towns by year-end. DoorDash has made tens of thousands of drone deliveries. Uber targets 1 million daily Uber Eats deliveries with Zipline by 2029, while Flytrex plans 60 Dallas-Fort Worth sites by mid-2027.
What’s next
The immediate test is where Zipline and Walmart put the 300 sites and how quickly they secure the approvals needed to operate. An FAA official said in September that he hoped the Part 108 rule would be published before the end of the year.
(Photo: Roksenhorn / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0)
