Drone Delivery Canada Corp. expressed its support for the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) progressive actions in making amendments to advance the use of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) for logistics and small package delivery.

Use of drones in this market segment is forecast to increase significantly, according to a report released by the FAA recently. In their January 2021 report, ‘Aerospace Forecast 2020 – 2040’, the FAA highlights substantial expected growth in both the small UAS category (less than 55 pounds maximum take-off weight) and the larger UAS category (a maximum take-off weight of more than 55 pounds).

The FAA report directly highlighted:

• Continued strong growth of small commercial drones over the next 5 years, forecast change in the number of units in this category could be as much as 210 per cent by 2024, when compared to 2019 figures.
• Professional grade commercial UAS is forecast to expand rapidly over time, especially as newer and more sophisticated uses are identified, designed, and operated.
• Approval of drones to enter the supply chain via small package delivery could result in growth that ‘…will likely be phenomenal’.
• Flights operated by larger UAS will double by 2024 versus 2019 levels.

The Report also states: “By 2030 ‘last mile package delivery’ … may result in around 500 million deliveries annually with a fleet of 40,000”.

In December 2020, the FAA also issued a statement with respect to ‘Remote ID’ and ‘Operations Over People and at Night’ further advancing the industry. DDC also sees this as a positive catalyst in support of the UAS industry and applications DDC is specifically considering.

In July 2020, DDC announced it had started the process to enter the US market.

“In January 2021, the FAA added new rules to 14 CFR Part 107 to permit the expansion of routine flights and created four categories of UAS for flights over suburban/urban areas assuming certain, specific criteria are met. These new rules greatly improve the regulatory certainty for UAS delivery operations in the United States and represent a significant step forward toward UAS integration into the US airspace. This FAA report further enables DDC on its path to US operations and the requirements needed. As a global leader in the drone delivery industry, DDC has been anticipating these new regulations and we are well positioned to fully capitalize on them,” said Steve Bogie, Vice President, Flight Operations & Technology, DDC, in a statement.

(Photo: Drone Delivery Canada)