Matternet has received approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for its Model M2 drone delivery style. Within a press release, Matternet had explained that the Model M2 was the initial non-military unmanned aircraft to gather Type Certification by the FAA, which therefore, determined that an aircraft’s design meets regulatory standards.

HIGHLIGHTS
Model M2, the initial non-military unmanned aircraft gathers Type Certification 
Matternet and UPS partnered in 2019 to deliver medical supplies in North Carolina
Walmart might expand its drone delivery network was launched last year

 The California-based Matternet has been testing its Model M2 drone over the past four years within the USA as a part of the FAA’s Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) program. Matternet mentioned that obtaining the green light from the FAA which might facilitate streamline the method of “implementing new networks and obtaining approvals.”

Matternet partnered with UPS in 2019 in order to deliver medical supplies in North Carolina, and later started delivering prescriptions in Florida. Matternet had also expanded its footprint to Switzerland, where it had teamed up with the Swiss Post to deliver lab samples and blood tests. The program was shortly suspended in 2019 when its drones suffered 2 crashes within the country, however Matternet has since declared that it was going to take over the Swiss Post’s drone delivery program beginning in 2023.

In a statement, the FAA had mentioned that Matternet’s Model M2 drone “meets all federal laws for safe, reliable and manageable operations and gives a level of safety which would be equivalent to existing airworthiness standards applicable to different categories of aircraft.” The four-rotor drones have been approved to hold four-pound payloads and would fly at an altitude of 400 feet or lower with a most speed of 45mph.

Matternet’s announcement comes as different tech giants would begin ramping up efforts to induce their own drone delivery services off the ground. In May, Walmart had mentioned that it was going to expand its drone delivery network that was launched last year in partnership with DroneUp to Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Texas, Utah, and Virginia by the end of 2022. Amazon has also declared plans to jumpstart its stalled drone delivery program in the month of June which eventually brought the drone-powered deliveries to Lockeford, California and College Station, Texas. Wing, the drone company was owned by Google parent Alphabet which had currently launched tests in parts of Texas and began working on drones which were capable of carrying larger payloads.

Also Read: The 63-Year-Old Record for the Longest Flight was Closely Broke Before the US Drone got Crashed