• by Chuck Martin , Staff Writer, October 22, 2019

Drone delivery activity is heating up.

Last week Alphabet subsidiary Wing started delivering packages from Walgreens to customers’ homes by drone.

Now CVS Pharmacy is following suit by signing a deal with UPS Flight Forward to develop a variety of drone delivery use cases, including business-to-consumer services.

The partnership includes the delivery of prescriptions and retail products from CVS to the homes of its customers.

The FAA recently gave approval to UPS Flight Forward Inc. to operate an entire drone airline, with no limits on the size or scope of operation, allowing UPS to fly an unlimited number of drones with an unlimited number of remote operations.

The FAA certification also allows UPS to fly drones at night.

“UPS Flight Forward is rapidly building a robust customer base and a network of technology partners to galvanize leadership in drone delivery,” stated Scott Price, UPS chief strategy and transformation officer. “Previous industry thinking had been limited to only ground transportation technology. Now we’re thinking in three dimensions.”

The concept of same-day-delivery is on the verge of being replaced by same-hour delivery.