Zipline Launches Drone Delivery In McKinney, Texas, Expanding Walmart Partnership Across Dallas-Fort Worth

Zipline officially launched its drone delivery service at a Walmart in McKinney, Texas on November 4, 2025, bringing 30-minute deliveries to another Dallas-Fort Worth suburb. The ribbon-cutting ceremony featured State Rep. Keresa Richardson placing the first order—a bottle of honey—which arrived in the parking lot within minutes.

The McKinney launch marks Zipline’s continued expansion across the DFW metroplex, where the company now operates at multiple Walmart locations alongside competitor Wing. CEO Keller Rinaudo Cliffton told attendees he expects McKinney to be “the fastest growing Zipline site they’ve launched,” positioning the suburban community as a key testing ground for the company’s Platform 2 system.

McKinney Residents Get Access Within 2-Mile Radius

Customers living within a 2-mile (3.2-kilometer) radius of the Walmart at 2041 Redbud Boulevard can now order drone deliveries through the Zipline app. The radius is expected to expand in the future, according to officials at the ceremony.

“We have something that other cities don’t have: the ability to have something dropped on your porch 15 minutes from the time you order it,” Richardson said during the event, referencing McKinney’s city tagline “Unique by Nature.”

The launch comes seven months after McKinney City Council members voted 5-2 in April to approve zoning for drone delivery infrastructure at the store. The approval followed an initial March vote that failed 3-2 because it didn’t reach the required four affirmative votes. Council members Charlie Phillips and Rick Franklin voted against both proposals, with Phillips stating he didn’t want his legacy to include approving McKinney’s first drone delivery service.

Platform 2 Drones Deliver With Precision And Safety

Zipline’s fully autonomous drones can carry up to 8 pounds (3.6 kilograms) and deliver within a 10-mile (16-kilometer) radius at speeds up to 70 mph (113 km/h). The delivery system consists of a hovering drone and a delivery droid that lowers customers’ orders on a tether, with a 3-foot delivery radius allowing customers to choose precise landing spots.

Eric Watson, head of safety and systems engineering at Zipline, emphasized the company’s safety record during the ceremony.

“The way we do that is by designing layers of safety into our systems,” he said. “That’s across software, operational protocols, redundant hardware and in-flight every [drone] every second does over 500 safety checks.”

Zipline’s drones have flown 120 million autonomous miles with zero safety events, according to company data. If safety systems detect an issue, drones can cancel deliveries and return to base, flag maintenance needs, or deploy a safety parachute with an audible alarm to notify people on the ground.

Walmart And Zipline Target DFW Dominance

The McKinney launch represents Zipline’s seventh operational Walmart location in the greater DFW area. The company began Dallas-area operations in April 2025 with a launch in Mesquite, Texas, and has since expanded to Waxahachie, Kaufman, Greenville, Bedford, Weatherford, and Lewisville.

Together with Wing, Walmart aims to offer drone delivery to approximately 75% of the DFW population—roughly 1.8 million households. The ambitious expansion across the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex positions the region as America’s most competitive drone delivery market, with two major providers racing to establish customer loyalty.

Zipline’s initial 2-mile radius in McKinney is more conservative than Wing’s typical 6-mile coverage, but the company’s Platform 2 system offers what CEO Rinaudo Cliffton calls “dinner plate-level accuracy” for precision deliveries. The drones hover at approximately 300 feet (91 meters) while lowering packages via tether, reducing noise compared to quadcopter competitors.

DroneXL’s Take

The McKinney launch underscores how quickly drone delivery is becoming normalized in suburban Texas—and how the regulatory environment has fundamentally shifted since President Trump’s June 2025 Executive Order streamlined BVLOS approvals. Just 18 months ago, drone delivery was limited to a handful of test markets. Today, multiple providers compete across an entire major metropolitan area.

What’s particularly interesting is the political opposition Zipline faced in McKinney. Council member Charlie Phillips’ concern that drone delivery teaches youth to be “lazy” reflects a generational divide we’re seeing play out in communities nationwide. Yet Mayor George Fuller’s pragmatic response—that drones will fly to McKinney regardless, either from this location or from beyond city limits—shows how local governments are learning they can’t halt technological progress, only choose whether to participate in shaping it.

The real story here isn’t just Zipline’s expansion, but the broader transformation of logistics infrastructure we’ve been tracking since the company hit its one-millionth delivery milestone. Zipline manufactures its drones in South San Francisco, giving it a strategic advantage as tariff discussions continue. Meanwhile, their 120 million autonomous miles provide a safety dataset that no competitor can match—a critical advantage as regulators evaluate which providers deserve expanded operating permissions.

The competitive dynamic between Zipline and Wing in DFW deserves attention. Wing just launched in Conyers, Georgia yesterday, part of Walmart’s five-state expansion plan. But Zipline’s approach differs fundamentally: their tether-based delivery system operates at higher altitudes with lower noise profiles, while Wing’s drones descend closer to deliver directly. Each has advantages, and Walmart is smart to let both providers compete on performance rather than picking a single winner.

For drone operators and industry watchers, McKinney’s launch signals that suburban markets—not just dense urban cores—will drive drone delivery adoption. These communities combine sufficient population density for commercial viability with homeowner properties that provide suitable landing zones. Expect this playbook to replicate nationwide as Zipline continues scaling operations throughout 2025 and 2026.

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Photo credits: Zipline