Wing Will Spend Up to $125 Million Building Delivery Drones in Fort Worth

Wing, the drone delivery company owned by Alphabet, says it will spend up to $125 million over the next two years building its next-generation delivery aircraft in the United States. The work will be centered on a new manufacturing plant in Fort Worth, Texas.

Wing announced the plan on November 6, one day after rival Zipline announced a major funding round and a 300-site expansion with Walmart. The timing shows how fast the delivery race is moving from pilot programs to scaled-up production.

What Wing announced

• Up to $125 million in direct manufacturing investment over two years.
• A 15,000-square-foot facility in Fort Worth that Wing says will be able to build tens of thousands of aircraft a year.
• Up to 100 new manufacturing jobs at the site.
• More investment in research and engineering in California and in the communities where Wing flies. Wing did not give dollar figures for those.

Wing says it already runs the largest drone delivery footprint in the country, flying from more than 70 sites in major metro areas. It has also completed more than one million home deliveries in the U.S. so far in 2026. The company is aiming for nearly 20 U.S. markets and more than 40 million Americans within reach by 2027.

“Drone delivery has become a global reality, driven by clear demand from our partners and their customers,” CEO Adam Woodworth said in the announcement. He added that the U.S. is Wing’s focus for growth.

Why Fort Worth

North Texas is where Wing’s Walmart partnership grew up. The Fort Worth Report notes that local service started in June 2024 at a Walmart on North Beach Street and now runs from 19 area stores. The Wing–Walmart network is expanding to more than 270 stores, with new markets including San Diego, Memphis, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Salt Lake City and the San Francisco Bay Area. Building aircraft close to one of its busiest operating areas shortens the trip from factory to nest.

Wing’s post does not give the plant’s address, a production start date or a monthly output target. “Tens of thousands a year” is a capacity figure, not a promise of how many aircraft will actually be built. The post also doesn’t describe the next-generation aircraft.

The BVLOS rule is the other half of the story

Wing ties its expansion directly to the FAA’s “upcoming” beyond visual line of sight rule, the proposed Part 108. Today, delivery operators scale through Part 135 air carrier certificates plus waivers and exemptions. Wing earned the first Part 135 certificate for drone operations in 2019. A final Part 108 would replace much of that case-by-case process with standard rules, and manufacturers want aircraft ready to go when it lands. The final rule has not been published yet, so treat Wing’s timeline as a bet on the rule rather than a schedule set by it.

The announcement also fits the wider move toward domestic drone production. With FCC restrictions blocking new authorizations for foreign-made drones and key components on the Covered List, American-built airframes matter more for every part of the industry, from delivery to inspection.

What this means for drone pilots

More delivery aircraft in the air means more crewed-and-uncrewed traffic at low altitude around suburban retail centers. If you fly near a Walmart or another delivery hub in the Dallas–Fort Worth area, Phoenix, Atlanta or the other Wing and Zipline markets, expect delivery drones to share your airspace more often. Watch for them, give them right-of-way and plan your flights with that traffic in mind.

The jobs side is good news too. Delivery networks need remote pilots-in-command, fleet technicians, site operators and safety staff, and many of those roles ask for an FAA Part 107 certificate as the baseline. Drone U’s Part 107 test prep course can get you there quickly. Students have been known to take the online course in 3 days and pass the test.

Sources: DroneLife; Wing; Fort Worth Report.

0