Google has registered two of its drones with the Federal Aviation Administration, according to filings placed on the FAA’s website. (Image: Shawn Collins)
Google may have just taken a large step toward releasing delivery UAVs.
Earlier this month, the company submitted documents to the Federal Aviation Administration to register two of its company-developed drones.
The first UAV, called the M2 model, was posted on the FAA’s website Oct. 2. The second drone, the B3, was posted Oct. 7. The FAA divulged that the expiration date for the registration for both drones expires Oct. 31, 2018.
Other details relating to the drones were sparse. It is known that both drones have a listed weight of up to 55 pounds and both were registered as fixed-wing multi-engine aircraft. The size of the drones match up with an August report by the Guardian which asserted that Google was building and testing a 55 pound UAV that could fly up to 100 mph. Since the company didn’t possess the right to commercially operate the UAV, Google found a loophole for its Project Wing. The loophole involved Google reaching an agreement with NASA allowing the company to legally test its delivery service over the agency’s private land.
With FAA approval, the flight of Google’s M2 and B3 will of course be much different since the company will be permitted to fly the UAVs over public land. What Google will do moving forward is unknown, though one could assume that by making the effort of filing the paperwork the company is attempting to move toward with a different method of testing.
Filed Under: Aerospace + defense
