Wing Will Build Tens of Thousands of Delivery Drones a Year in Texas
Alphabet's drone delivery arm, Wing, announced on November 6 that it is putting up to $125 million over two years into building its next aircraft in the US. The work is centered on a 15,000-square-foot facility in Fort Worth, Texas. Wing expects the plant to eventually turn out tens of thousands of drones a year.
The Fort Worth plant is expected to create up to 100 manufacturing jobs.
Wing says it has made more than one million US home deliveries this year.
Wing serves major metros from more than 70 sites, many of them Walmart stores.
Wing plans to reach more than 40 million Americans across nearly 20 markets by 2027.
Wing earned the first FAA Part 135 air carrier certificate for drone operations in 2019.
Wing is turning drone delivery into a factory business
Wing is scaling up from building drones by the hundreds to planning for tens of thousands. The new facility will make its next-generation aircraft, which Wing has not yet named or shown. It is not a large building, about a quarter of a football field in size, but the volume it is meant to handle is considerable.
The funds are earmarked for direct manufacturing over the next two years. Wing is putting money into research and engineering in California as well, where it spent years designing and testing its system. The company has not said how the $125 million splits between Texas and California.
What was once a lab project has come a long way. Wing traces back to 2012 at X, Alphabet's Moonshot Factory, with the aim of moving small packages more efficiently than a car could. Home delivery came first, the hardest case, with its yards, trees and ever-changing neighborhoods. Today the system makes thousands of deliveries a day.
Fort Worth is already a Wing town. Local delivery got under way in June 2024 from a Walmart on North Beach Street, and Wing now operates from 19 Walmart stores in the area. Building aircraft close to the busiest routes shortens the trip from the factory floor to the flight line.
In the company's November 6 announcement, chief executive Adam Woodworth tied the plant to demand:
"Drone delivery has become a global reality, driven by clear demand from our partners and their customers."
Why does Wing need tens of thousands of drones?
Wing needs aircraft to keep pace with a rapidly expanding store network. Its partnership with Walmart is set to extend to more than 270 stores. Seven new metro areas are on the schedule: San Diego, Memphis, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Salt Lake City and the San Francisco Bay Area.
Every new location needs a fleet. Wing's current drones cruise at up to 60 miles an hour, carry up to five pounds and lower packages on a tether. More stores and more daily orders mean more aircraft in rotation, plus spares for maintenance.
In a statement on the expansion, Heather Rivera, Wing's chief business officer, described how often customers now use the service:
"Our work with Walmart has shown that drone delivery isn't just a novelty, it's a service many customers count on multiple times per week."
Why make drones in America?
US rules now give the home-built drone the advantage. In December 2025 the FCC put new foreign-made drones and their critical components on its Covered List, a move that blocks new models from being approved for sale. Even DJI, the world's largest drone maker, was not exempted. Older models that were already approved can still be sold and flown.
The change has delivery firms putting down roots nearer their customers. Flytrex opened a plant in Pilot Point, Texas, in May with room to assemble about 1,000 drones a year. Zipline intends to use some of its new $1.5 billion in funding to grow its US manufacturing.
Security concerns are pushing drone supply chains out of China, Sparknify reported in March. The story covered an amphibious drone that flies like a plane and dives like a submarine. It suggested Taiwan's electronics industry is well placed to supply sensors, processors and precision parts. A line in Texas still needs those parts from somewhere.
To see how these machines are put together, you can build one. A DIY drone kit with brushless motors and optical flow positioning (affiliate link) is an hour and a half project meant for builders 14 and older. It is no airline-grade delivery drone, but it makes clear how motors, sensors and flight control work together. Register with the FAA if your drone requires it and follow the recreational rules.
The rule change Wing is waiting for
Wing has tied the plant to a coming FAA rule for flights beyond visual line of sight. For now, Wing and Zipline operate under air carrier approvals granted site by site. A national framework would let operators scale without going through the same negotiations for every route.
The FAA proposed that framework, known as Part 108, in 2025. Wing says its upcoming release will drive growth across the industry. Until it is final, factories can turn out aircraft faster than regulators can approve new operations.
The timing is a calculated move. Since it takes months to staff and fine tune a plant, Wing is putting capacity in place ahead of the rule. If the rule comes soon, Wing will have aircraft on hand for new markets. If it is delayed, there are still seven metro areas and hundreds of Walmart stores to supply.
What could Wing's Texas factory mean for drone delivery and Silicon Valley?
Texas will likely see the increase in airborne drones first. Wing's plant sits right next to one of its most active markets, and Walmart's other drone operator, Zipline, already flies there. The people of Dallas-Fort Worth will witness the scale-up before anyone else.
Mass production should bring some cost relief as well. Delivery drones have been built in small batches, which keeps unit prices high. A factory turning out tens of thousands of aircraft a year can standardize testing and order parts in volume. That lowers the price of each aircraft and makes each delivery cheaper to run, a necessity for any drone service hoping to stand up to vans and cars.
The scramble for parts will become more intense. With foreign drones and components mostly barred from new approvals, US builders must rely on domestic or vetted suppliers for motors, batteries, cameras and radios. Wing, Zipline, Flytrex and military drone makers will all be vying for the same limited supply. Suppliers in Taiwan, Japan and Europe that pass US security reviews may find an opening.
Regulators and neighbors will set the pace. A factory can produce the aircraft, but cities decide where hubs are sited and how often drones fly overhead. Some towns have already pushed back on drone hubs over noise and zoning. With more aircraft in the mix, those disputes will reach more places.
The plant is a handoff of sorts for Silicon Valley. Wing grew out of X, Alphabet's Moonshot Factory, and spent years on research and testing in California. Now its volume work moves to Texas while design stays on the West Coast. It is a pattern seen across hardware these days: design in California, build in Texas.
Founders making drone parts, flight software or battery systems have a clearer customer list than they did a year ago. Wing, Zipline and Flytrex all need suppliers that can scale with US-built fleets.
The plant also says something about where hardware money is flowing. After years of software-first investing, investors are turning their support back to factories, whether for chips, batteries or drones.
Five things will show which way this goes.
The name and specs of the next-generation Wing aircraft built in Fort Worth.
The FAA's final Part 108 rule on beyond visual line of sight flights.
The first Wing deliveries in the seven new metro areas.
Hiring numbers at the Fort Worth plant against the target of 100 jobs.
Any FCC exemptions for foreign drone components that US makers rely on.
The next delivery drone to appear over a Texas backyard may have been put together just a few miles away.
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Questions & Answers
Q1: Will the drones from Wing's Fort Worth plant make Walmart drone delivery quicker or more common for shoppers?
With more aircraft in the air, Walmart's drone partners will be able to fill more orders and cover more stores each day. Wing is expanding to more than 270 Walmart locations, while Zipline has 300 sites to add under Walmart's new deal with Zipline. Speed is already measured in minutes, so the real difference is reach.
Q2: Why are US drone delivery firms building their own aircraft instead of buying from DJI?
US fleets are turning to American or other trusted suppliers because new foreign drones can no longer get FCC approval. The same applies in public safety, and it is one reason behind Axon's $1.2 billion bet on Skydio, a US drone maker.
Q3: I run a startup in the drone battery business. How do I get on the radar of companies like Wing as they ramp up US production?
Buyers such as Wing, Zipline and Flytrex want suppliers that can pass security reviews and scale with US-built fleets. It helps to have a clear story and the right introductions. A startup PR package at sparknify.com/startup-pr-service comes with a feature article and an introduction to an investor or decision-maker.
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