First-ever legal drone delivery takes place in the U.S.

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," 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 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. Read more...