Burritos from Heaven: Are drones the future of delivery? | The VergeSkip to main contentThe homepageThe VergeThe Verge logo.The VergeThe Verge logo.TechReviewsScienceEntertainmentAICESHamburger Navigation ButtonThe homepageThe VergeThe Verge logo.Hamburger Navigation ButtonNavigation DrawerThe VergeThe Verge logo.Login / Sign UpcloseCloseSearchTechExpandAmazonAppleFacebookGoogleMicrosoftSamsungBusinessSee all techGadgetsExpandLaptopsPhonesTVsHeadphonesSpeakersWearablesSee all gadgetsReviewsExpandSmart Home ReviewsPhone ReviewsTablet ReviewsHeadphone ReviewsSee all reviewsAIExpandOpenAIAnthropicSee all AIVerge ShoppingExpandBuying GuidesDealsGift GuidesSee all shoppingPolicyExpandAntitrustPoliticsLawSecuritySee all policyScienceExpandSpaceEnergyEnvironmentHealthSee all scienceEntertainmentExpandTV ShowsMoviesAudioSee all entertainmentGamingExpandXboxPlayStationNintendoSee all gamingStreamingExpandDisneyHBONetflixYouTubeCreatorsSee all streamingTransportationExpandElectric CarsAutonomous CarsRide-sharingScootersSee all transportationFeaturesVerge VideoExpandTikTokYouTubeInstagramPodcastsExpandDecoderThe VergecastVersion HistoryNewslettersExpandThe Verge DailyInstallerVerge DealsNotepadOptimizerRegulatorThe StepbackArchivesStoreSubscribeFacebookThreadsInstagramYoutubeRSSThe VergeThe Verge logo.Burritos from Heaven: Are drones the future of delivery?Comments DrawerCommentsLoading commentsGetting the conversation ready...TechCloseTechPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All TechTransportationCloseTransportationPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All TransportationDronesCloseDronesPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All DronesBurritos from Heaven: Are drones the future of delivery?Zipline’s airborne delivery service is making fans in Texas, with more locales coming soon.by Tim StevensCloseTim StevensFreelancerPosts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All by Tim StevensJan 21, 2026, 12:00 PM UTCLinkShareGift Image: Tim Stevens / The VergeTechCloseTechPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All TechTransportationCloseTransportationPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All TransportationDronesCloseDronesPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All DronesBurritos from Heaven: Are drones the future of delivery?Zipline’s airborne delivery service is making fans in Texas, with more locales coming soon.by Tim StevensCloseTim StevensFreelancerPosts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All by Tim StevensJan 21, 2026, 12:00 PM UTCLinkShareGiftOn a blustery afternoon late last year, on the lawn just outside City Hall in Rowlett, Texas, a strange-looking craft cleared the trees just before me. It hovered overhead for a moment before lowering a second craft on a thin rope all the way to a parched patch of grass. The little, white thing deposited a brown paper payload, then rode its tether back up to its waiting mothership, which turned and left. The experience lasted less than 30 seconds.This wasn’t some UFO experience. This was a Zipline drone delivery, out in the real world, and that payload was my lunch. It was just one of the two million such deliveries this company has made since 2016, carrying everything from household supplies in rural America to lifesaving vaccines in remote Africa. And soon, those drone deliveries will be coming to even more places.PreviousNext1/4Uncrewed EvolutionZipline is a California-based company that has only been slinging burritos and other items in the Lone Star State since 2025, but has been proving itself elsewhere in the world for nearly a decade now.The company first started operations in Rwanda in 2016, delivering medical supplies in minutes to remote locations. Independent studies have shown the lifesaving nature of Zipline’s deliveries, making this the rare startup with a genuine feel-good story at its core.In Africa, Zipline operates what it calls Platform 1, or P1, aircraft, fixed-wing, uncrewed machines that look like bigger versions of the toys your grandpa built out of balsa in the basement. Workers load four-pound payloads into the belly of these planes, then launch them into the sky via giant slingshot.Once in the air, the P1s plot their own courses, up to 120 miles round-trip, reading weather data along the route and finding their own way around storms. They then deploy the payload via parachute before returning home for a cargo reload and a battery swap.The delivery machines used in the US are rather more sophisticated but are likewise autonomous. Called P2, they rely on five motors and can transition midair from hovering to traditional, horizontal flight. This means they can launch and land vertically, or hover over a drop zone. What they give up in efficiency from the P1 (max range here is 24 miles) they gain in flexibility, making them better suited for the sorts of suburban areas Zipline is currently targeting.The hallmark of the P2 is its tethered buddy, called a Zip. Each Zip has a single motor of its own plus room for an eight-pound payload roughly the size of a breadbox. Its propeller is there in case it needs to fight the wind as it’s lowered from the P2 aircraft hovering above.The P2 is loaded with redundant sensors, even able to monitor nearby aircraft transponders. The bevy of sensors and smarts onboard means it’s an uncrewed aircraft capable of flying safely even in busy, urban airspace beyond the line of sight, or BVLOS in FAA-speak.PreviousNext1/5The Rowlett experienceThe capabilities of Zipline’s aircraft is proven through a strong safety record with over 125 million miles flown. That’s reassuring, but I was curious how Texans have been responding to this whole thing. After all, this is a state full of people you wouldn’t think would appreciate automated, sensor-laden aircraft hovering over their homes.“Generally speaking, compared to some things that we picture in our community, there was not as much opposition as you might expect,” Rowlett Mayor Jeff Winget told me. “I think most people were really pretty excited about it.”Winget told me the approval and permitting process took about five months, helped by Zipline working to keep its footprint minimal.After receiving my lunch, I swung by one of Zipline’s so-called Zipping Points, where bundles are loaded for delivery. This one happened to be in a Wendy’s parking lot, but they can be quickly and easily deployed wherever pickups are needed.The Zipping Points are curious contraptions, odd white kiosks with a pair of metal arms reaching for the sky. In theory, these enable retail workers to load in a delivery and walk away. The P2 then hovers overhead, drops its little Zip buddy to retrieve the payload, and then wings off to its hungry recipient.I say “in theory” because, when I was watching, some deliveries needed a bit of manual help from a small team of Zipline employees dashing between retailers to ensure pickups went smoothly. Some pickups needed a few attempts, but all were on their way quickly enough.And, crucially, even on a blustery day when drones are typically at their loudest as they fight the wind, the traffic overhead made less noise than the nearby intersection. The P2 hovers high enough overhead while receiving or delivering parcels that it’s honestly hard to hear, far less noticeable than your average consumer drone.I Want to ReceiveWhile Mayor Winget said the feedback he receives from constituents is incredibly positive, the relatively low noise pollution should help keep everything copacetic as the service continues to expand. Still, there have been some less positive reactions to the rollout.John Erik Ege, the state director of the Texas branch of the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON), said there have been a few reports from concerned citizens since Zipline began operating in Texas. One, filed in September, described a strange hovering object that lowered something that traveled straight down, then “re-docked” before disappearing.He also told me of someone else who reported a similar “mother ship” deploying a smaller object straight down. “She was frustrated that folks at work and friends ridiculed her. This is unfortunate. She did actually witness something,” Ege said.That something, of course, was a delivery drone. This is hardly a repeat of last year’s New Jersey drone scare, but MUFON representatives in Houston and Phoenix would do well to prepare. Those two cities will be next to receive Zipline service over the next few months.Fresh From AboveAnd how was my lunch? I must confess, it was fresher and hotter than any burrito delivery I’ve ever received, a noticeable step above what I’m used to from myriad terrestrial food delivery services. Ordering through the Zipline app was no more complicated than Uber Eats. My burrito had a delivery fee of $0.99, plus a 20-percent service fee (that’s capped at $6). And no, you don’t need to tip the drone. If you’re not feeling Chipotle, you can currently place orders through Blaze Pizza, Buffalo Wild Wings, Crumbl, Little Caesars, Walmart, and Wendy’s.In the retail drone delivery space, Zipline’s primary competitor is Alphabet’s Wing, which also works with Walmart. While Wing has managed an impressive 750,000 deliveries, that’s fewer than half of Zipline’s tally. Amazon Prime Air, meanwhile, recently suspended its testing after a pair of crashes. For the moment, nobody looks set to challenge Zipline’s early lead, especially as it expands into Houston and Phoenix. That lead just netted the company a $7.6 billion valuation in its most recent $600 million raise.Yes, this is yet another attack by robots on human jobs, but honestly it’s one I can get behind. In a town like Rowlett, if you get food delivered, it’s going to come to you by car, and the idea of a human being driving a 4,000-pound vehicle to carry a burrito in a paper bag is just a bit excessive.Photography by Tim StevensFollow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.Tim StevensCloseTim StevensFreelancerPosts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All by Tim StevensDronesCloseDronesPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All DronesTechCloseTechPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All TechTransportationCloseTransportationPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All TransportationMost PopularMost PopularSony’s TV business is being taken over by TCLHow much can a city take?How BYD beat TeslaNetflix revises Warner Bros. bid to an all-cash offerSamsung’s discounted microSD Express card more than doubles your Switch 2 storageThe Verge DailyA free daily digest of the news that matters most.Email (required)Sign UpBy submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice. 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Zipline’s airborne delivery service is generating significant buzz in Rowlett, Texas, primarily through its collaboration with the local City Hall, marking a significant step in the burgeoning field of drone-based logistics. Tim Stevens’s reporting details Zipline’s operational model, highlighting the company’s shift from a primarily medical supply delivery operation in Africa, where they’ve facilitated lifesaving deliveries in remote regions, to a targeted expansion within the United States. Specifically, Zipline’s P1 and P2 aircraft models are at the core of this expansion. The P1, a fixed-wing aircraft, is employed for larger payloads, capable of autonomous journeys up to 120 miles, utilizing weather data for route optimization and navigation. These aircraft deploy four-pound payloads via parachute and return for payload reloading. The P2, a more versatile option, employs five motors, enabling vertical takeoff and landing, as well as mid-air transitions between hovering and horizontal flight. This adaptability is crucial for navigating urban environments and suburban areas, as demonstrated in the Rowlett deployment.

A key element of Zipline’s operation is the “Zip” – a tethered companion drone that carries an eight-pound payload. This allows for stable delivery, especially during windy conditions, and contributes to the P2’s operational flexibility. The aircraft’s redundancy, including its ability to monitor surrounding aircraft transponders, speaks to a considerable investment in safety measures. Zipline’s operational data, reflecting over 125 million miles flown, further cements their positioning as a leader in this space.

However, the deployment isn't without complexities. Mayor Jeff Winget’s account reveals a surprising lack of initial opposition, indicative of a community open to innovative solutions. This contrasts with initial concerns, revealing a degree of acceptance and excitement surrounding the technology. Nonetheless, the rollout has not been entirely seamless. Initial pickups required manual assistance, highlighting the need for a refined operational process. The company’s success in Texas is partly attributable to its relatively low noise pollution, a critical factor in mitigating concerns often associated with drone deployment.

The broader narrative is complicated by the involvement of MUFON (Mutual UFO Network) representatives, who have reported unexplained hovering objects and “mother ship” deployments. John Erik Ege’s account highlights a potential disconnect between observed phenomena and the company’s clearly defined operations, raising questions about misinterpretations and anxieties surrounding new technologies. While these reports are likely attributable to misidentification of the drone’s operation rather than extraterrestrial activity, they underscore the public’s apprehension towards unfamiliar technologies. Zipline’s commercial success, including a $7.6 billion valuation, is predicated on its ability to compete against rivals like Alphabet’s Wing and Amazon Prime Air, further demonstrating the strategic importance of continuous innovation and operational refinement. The company’s current focus on delivering everyday goods, facilitated through partnerships with brands like Wendy's and Walmart, positions it for sustained growth within a rapidly evolving delivery landscape.