Bruce McPherson

One of Canada’s top drone delivery companies is “Coming to America” (FYI: Not an Eddie Murphy sequel).

This week, Drone Delivery Canada launched the first steps to soar into the U.S. market, sparking discussions with potential American partners. A company spokesperson said several companies had expressed interest in working with the Toronto-based UAV firm to “provide [DDC’s] proprietary systems to support drone delivery solutions for multiple vertical markets and use-cases in multiple geographies.”

Recently, DDC kick-started application efforts for an aircraft Type Design Approval for the Sparrow drone, with subsequent aircraft in DDC’s fleet to follow.

Potential American partners would use the firm’s system to conduct for-hire drone delivery operations in the U.S. under FAA regulations.

“The aircraft Type Certification effort is an essential first step for enabling FAA approval of routine beyond visual line-of-sight delivery operations, which in-turn will provide significant opportunities for expansion,” a DDC spokesperson added. Currently, Drone Delivery Canada is permitted to conduct limited delivery operations in the U.S. under FAA visual line-of-sight regulations.

“We have successfully proven and commercialized the business model and gained market traction in Canada, and it’s a natural progression to expand, in a controlled means, to international markets,” DDC CEO Michael Zahra said.

He added:

“We have active discussions underway in numerous international target markets and the United States is an obvious choice.  We have flown successfully in the Unites States in a Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) pilot project, and now we are ready to start the process to enter the United States commercially. We are excited about the opportunities ahead of us in Canada and internationally and have a strong funnel of interested prospects.”

Drone Delivery Canada News Roundup

• June: DDC captured its second contract with DSV Air & Sea Inc. Canada, a subsidiary of Danish conglomerate DSV Panalpina A/S.
• June: Drone Delivery Canada announced a collaboration with GlobalMedic and Air Canada to deliver COVID-treatment cargo to Christian Island, a remote territory governed by the Beausoleil First Nation Community in Ontario.
• November: DDC announced its first partnership with European logistics/transport group DSV Panalpina A/S to provide a drone-based delivery platform to the Danish conglomerate’s new Canadian air and sea division.
• February 2019: Drone Delivery Canada unveiled its largest and longest-range drone, the Condor. Under development over the past year, the single-rotor vehicle offers a payload of 400 pounds and can travel up to 124 miles on a tank of gas.
• 2018: DDC announced a partnership with Toyota Tsusho Canada – a subsidiary of the well-known Toyota Group. The effort will see TTCI participate with DDC’s commercial pilot program in Canada for flight testing and development of international markets for drone delivery.