Nearly 1 in 5 U.S. logistics businesses say delivery drones will be the most disruptive technology in the next three years — and some are already putting them to work.
That’s the headline finding from Tech.co’s latest survey of 264 U.S. transport and shipping professionals conducted in July 2025. The data shows that 17% of businesses expect drones to shake up their operations in the near term, while 7% are already using drones today.
Those numbers might seem small now, but in an industry where even incremental changes can ripple across the entire supply chain, they signal that drones are moving from hype to reality. By 2028, Tech.co, which is a technology media company, projects that drones will indeed be e a disruptive force in American logistics.
That prediction that dovetails with looming regulatory changes in the drone industry — most notably the August 2025 announcement from the U.S. government of its proposed rule to enable routine Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) drone operations. It also comes at an interesting time for the traditional delivery industry: mounting pressure from driver shortages.
Why regulatory reform matters
Right now, the biggest barrier in drone deliveries isn’t the hardware — it’s the paperwork. Yes, even today, if you want to fly a drone beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS), you need to go through the FAA’s cumbersome waiver process.
hat means each operation is approved on a case-by-case basis — a structure that makes scaling drone delivery nearly impossible. Without BVLOS, companies can’t deliver packages across neighborhoods, much less entire cities. This is where Part 108 comes in.
The FAA is in the middle of developing new BVLOS rules that would essentially replace the current waiver system with a standardized, permanent framework. It’s not law yet, but the proposal — building on years of industry pressure, pilot programs, and public comments — would be a seismic shift for companies like Amazon Prime Air, Wing, and Zipline.
Part 108 is being watched as the drone industry’s “Part 107 moment.” Part 107, implemented in 2016, opened the skies for commercial drone pilots by creating a clear framework for pilots of small unmanned aircraft to operate under a simple license. Part 108 would do something similar for BVLOS operations, which are critical to making drone delivery viable at scale.
Who’s already flying
Despite regulatory headaches, drones are already in the skies. Tech.co found that 7% of logistics businesses have already adopted drones. The two biggest players in actually running drone deliveries are Wing and Zipline. Let’s take a closer look at where each major player stands.
Google Wing
Google’s Wing has arguably been the most widespread in terms of delivering consumer goods within America. Wing, a subsidiary of Alphabet, has been operating drone delivery pilots for years and has completed more than 350,000 commercial deliveries globally.
In the U.S., Wing has programs running in the Dallas-Fort Worth area (which I have tried myself!). There, customers can order coffee, prescriptions or small household items and have them delivered by drone in as little as 10 minutes.
Wing’s drones are known for their hybrid design, which allows them to hover like a helicopter but also fly like a fixed-wing aircraft, giving them longer range and greater stability. They lower packages on a tether rather than landing, which avoids the need for a landing pad in customers’ yards. Wing’s partnership with Walmart and other retailers suggests it could be the most nimble of the drone delivery giants.
Zipline
Zipline is the company most logistics professionals cite as the proof point for drone delivery. Founded in 2014, Zipline made its name delivering blood, vaccines, and other medical supplies in developing countries such as Rwanda and Ghana. Its drones have logged millions of flight hours and saved countless lives by delivering medicine to hard-to-reach places faster than any truck or motorbike could.
Related read: Zipline’s Okeoma Moronu shares growth plans for drone delivery (including U.S. expansion)
Zipline has since expanded to the U.S., where it has partnerships with health systems like Intermountain Healthcare in Utah and Novant Health in North Carolina. Unlike Wing or Amazon, Zipline’s drones use a fixed-wing design that gives them longer range and faster speeds.
Their newest platform, the P2 Zip, is designed for precision home delivery, using a small, quiet droid that lowers packages on a tether with remarkable accuracy — down to a backyard table or a porch step.
While Zipline started in healthcare, its expansion into consumer deliveries positions it as one of the most credible contenders to disrupt logistics. In fact, like Wing, it now even partners with Walmart to deliver consumer goods in the U.S.
Why drones matter for U.S. logistics firms
Worried about robots taking jobs? Most experts agree it’s not an issue, given that the U.S. logistics industry is stretched thin.
Truck driver shortages have been a headline problem for U.S. logistics companies for years, with 24% of survey respondents citing workforce shortages as their biggest pain point. Last-mile delivery is particularly expensive, accounting for more than half of total shipping costs in many cases.
Drones could offer a game-changing solution by handling lightweight, urgent goods faster and cheaper than vans, reducing reliance on drivers for short-haul trips, and providing a sustainable alternative as battery-powered drones cut emissions.
“Technology like delivery drones could positively transform last-mile delivery in particular, which is notoriously complex and costly,” said Aaron Drapkin, Tech.co’s content manager.
When 17% of an entire industry calls drones the disruptive tech to watch, that’s not just hype — that’s a signal. With the latest drone regulation proposals in the U.S., delivery drones could shift from novelty to norm by the end of the decade. But until then, expect patchy deployments, plenty of cautious optimism and the occasional fiery drone headline.
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