First drone delivery takes place in US
Medication was delivered to a free clinic run by Remote Area Medical and the Health Wagon in Virginia becoming the first legal drone delivery in the United States. The fixed wing aircraft operated by NASA Langley Research Centre, carried 24 packages of medicine from the pharmacy to Lonesome Pine Airport. The flight took about three minutes.
In a U.S.-first, drones made a delivery Friday with the blessing of regulators.

As part of a project called "Let’s Fly Wisely(opens in a new tab)," medication was delivered to a free clinic run by Remote Area Medical and the Health Wagon in Wise County, Virginia. The stunt was intended to draw attention to the difficulties of delivering healthcare in rural areas, as well as show off just what drones can do.

Australian drone startup Flirtey, Virginia Tech and NASA, among other partners, worked together to make Friday's event possible.

The operation kicked off with a fixed-wing aircraft, operated by NASA Langley Research Center pilots, carrying 24 packages of medicine(opens in a new tab) from a pharmacy in Oakwood, Virginia to Lonesome Pine Airport in Wise. Flirtey's smaller unmanned craft then hauled the medicine the remaining distance in multiple trips to the Wise County Fairgrounds, lowering its cargo via tether to near the clinic. Per Flirtey's video, a single flight took around three minutes.

In February, the Federal Aviation Administration clarified its position on commercial drone use with an effective ban on drone delivery. An exception was made for Friday's highly controlled event, after the Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership at Virginia Tech gained authorization for the research flights(opens in a new tab).

Although the distance covered wasn't immense, Flirtey on Twitter called the plan's success "a Kitty Hawk moment," referring to the North Carolina town near where the Wright brothers succeeded in taking off in the first controlled flight in 1903.

Flirtey has just completed the first FAA approved drone delivery in the U.S. - a Kitty Hawk moment in Wise Virginia— Flirtey (@Fly_Flirtey) July 17, 2015(opens in a new tab)

"Proving that unmanned aircraft can deliver lifesaving medicines is an important step toward a future where unmanned aircraft make routine autonomous deliveries of your everyday purchases," Matt Sweeny, Flirtey CEO said in a statement(opens in a new tab).

Flirtey has successfully delivered 24 medical packages to patients in Wise County, making history as the first approved US drone delivery!— Flirtey (@Fly_Flirtey) July 17, 2015(opens in a new tab)

Governor Terry McAuliffe of Virginia, President Timothy Sands of Virginia Tech, NASA's SR-22 and Flirtey! #kittyhawk(opens in a new tab) pic.twitter.com/bp3NqCzaXw(opens in a new tab)— Flirtey (@Fly_Flirtey) July 17, 2015(opens in a new tab)

While Amazon is of course desperate to get its drone mailing service off the ground, the drone-delivery of medication has been making more headlines recently. In June, a pro-choice group called Women on Waves flew abortion medication by drone into Poland, where the procedure is severely restricted.