100 million miles? The collective odometers across Zipline’s fleet just marked a major milestone at the beginning of this week.
On March 10, 2025, Zipline, which is a California-based drone delivery company, officially surpassed 100 million commercial autonomous miles. To put that into perspective, that’s the equivalent of driving on every road in the United States 24 times. It’s also the equivalent of making making 200 round trips to the moon. Of course, this is without a driver or an astronaut onboard – and not even necessarily a single pilot behind the controls. Most drone flights out of Zipline these days are fully autonomous.
Zipline celebrated its milestone by putting out its own promotional video, which you can watch here:
From medical supplies to mainstream logistics
Since its inception, Zipline has been a leader in drone delivery. In its early days, it flew primarily in Rwanda, where it pioneered the use of drones to transport medical supplies to remote areas. That was a smart move for a few reasons. There wasn’t the risk-averse safety culture held by the FAA. Remote areas made flying less risky anyway. With weak road infrastructure, there was also high need, so any risks were easily outweighed by the payoff.
Payoff indeed. Over the years, Zipline has expanded operations to other developing countries, notably Ghana, Nigeria and Kenya. It’s also expanded to Japan. And yes, it’s even operating now in the United States.
Zipline’s partnerships
Many of those operations are part of partnerships with other big names. I remember back in 2016, when I headed to their headquarters in Half Moon Bay, California, a rural beach area south of Silicon Valley, for a major media event. That was part of an announcement between Zipline, the UPS Foundation (yes, the package delivery giant) and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. The team was working on delivering blood for transfusions by drone throughout Rwanda.
And whereas it started as a healthcare-focused logistics provider, these days it’s a full-fledged delivery network spanning multiple industries. Yes, it’s partnered with bougie salad restaurant Sweetgreen and sandwich chain Panera, to name a few. Companies have embraced Zipline’s platform, leveraging its swift, zero-emissions delivery capabilities to serve customers in a manner that — by many metrics — is more effective than traditional ground transportation.
The tech behind Zipline
Zipline’s ability to reach 100 million commercial miles is made possible by its own aircraft which are made in-house. The company’s drones use fixed-wing designs, allowing for longer ranges and more efficient energy use compared to traditional quadcopters. Zipline’s secret weapon is its unique take-off and landing system, which eliminates the need for large, costly infrastructure. Instead of requiring conventional runways, Zipline drones are catapult-launched and use a specialized retrieval system designed for smooth, controlled landings.
These days, Zipline is focused on its P2 system, which first launched in March 2023. This departure from the old aircraft entails basically a two-part drone: the primary aircraft for long-distance travel and a detachable “delivery droid.”
The primary drone carries the smaller droid near the delivery location, upon which the droid detaches from the primary drone. It then lowers itself via a tether, and gently deposits the package at the customer’s doorstep — a system perhaps best decided for deliveries in dense areas.
What’s next for Zipline?
The 100 million miles milestone marked in March 2025 follows another major milestone set less than a year agoo. In April 2024, Zipline clocked its millionth delivery. That was done in Ghana, involving a drone carrying two bags of IV fluid from Zipline’s distribution center in Ghana’s Western North Region to a local health facility. At the time, Zipline said that about 70% of its one million deliveries had been executed in the last two years alone.
Now drone delivery is not a surefire success. Many drone delivery companies have failed. For example Aerit, a Swedish drone delivery startup, filed for bankruptcy in May 2024 after failing to secure funding. Meanwhile SkyDrop (the company formerly known as Flirtey) shut down operations in late 2024 after failing to achieve profitability.
But Zipline has long been going strong — and looks to continue to do so.
As drone technology continues to evolve, Zipline’s achievement of 100 million autonomous miles is more than just a record — it’s a testament to how far one company in a tough industry has come. It’s also a hopeful glimpse into a future where aerial logistics are as common as traditional ground-based delivery.
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