Case Study-Powering Arlington Drone Delivery

The Challenge

Last-mile delivery is one of the hardest problems in urban logistics — getting goods from a distribution point the final stretch to an actual front door, especially as fuel costs rise and traditional delivery models struggle to keep pace with demand.

Arlington saw this problem concentrated in its 76010 zip code, where more than 2,700 households had only one car and access to healthy food was limited. The area was already home to an established Tarrant Area Food Bank client base — the city just needed a way to reach them more reliably. As a member of the Dallas-Fort Worth Clean Cities Coalition, Arlington was also committed to finding a sustainable, low-emission way to solve it, not just any solution.

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411

Flights over two demonstration periods

343

Packages delivered

276

Miles flown

The Solution

Airspace Link partnered with the City of Arlington to write the grant application that secured $780,182 in US Department of Energy funding for the pilot — then worked closely with the City to help enlist the right mix of partners to bring it to life.

Partner sincluded the Tarrant Area Food Bank, the University of Texas at Arlington, the North Central Texas Council of Governments, and delivery partners Aerialoop, Clevon, and Mozee.

Over two demonstration periods, the program delivered real results: 162 flights and 81 air-delivered packages in the first round, followed by 139 ground deliveries across 26 routes — growing to 172 total packages delivered in the second demonstration as the program expanded. The result is a working, tested model for last-mile delivery that Arlington and other cities can build on going forward.

Built to Last

Every new mode of transportation needs infrastructure to support it — roads for cars, runways for planes, rail lines for trains. Drones are no different. Airspace Link is helping build that infrastructure for Arlington, so the technology piloted here can scale well beyond this program.

"We were really fortunate to be able to partner with Airspace Link on developing the grant application for this project, relying on their expertise and their assistance in crafting a project that not only met the needs of the City of Arlington, but also is really going to help us push forward the state of technology around electric and autonomous deliveries."

— Ann Foss, Transportation, Planning & Program Manager, City of Arlington TX

KERA Jim Ross

Air Date: May 9, 2024

Drone and autonomous vehicle food bank deliveries lift off in Arlington

KDFW TV

Air Date: May 8, 2024

Arlington to use drones, delivery robots to deliver food to residents in need

<p>WATCH NOW →</p>

WFAA

Air Date: May 9, 2024

Arlington will use drones, delivery robot to get food to residents in need as part of pilot program

<p>WATCH NOW →</p>

Dallas Innovates

Pub Date: May 14, 2025

Arlington Is Showing How Drones and Autonomous Vehicles Can Deliver Food to Those in Need

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