Wing said Friday it will invest up to $125 million over the next two years in a 15,000-square-foot drone factory in Fort Worth, Texas, with up to 100 manufacturing jobs and the capacity to build tens of thousands of aircraft a year. The Alphabet-owned company will build its next-generation delivery aircraft there for a Walmart network that is contracted to reach more than 270 stores by 2027.
The announcement comes one day after Zipline, Walmart’s other drone partner, raised $1.5 billion at a $21.5 billion valuation and signed Walmart for 300 more sites, with its money also earmarked for US manufacturing. Both companies fly Walmart orders in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro today.
Wing’s plant covers about a quarter of a football field. Wing has not said how many aircraft fly its 70-plus sites today.
Wing’s $125 Million Is an “Up To” Figure That Also Covers California
Wing’s own post describes “up to $125M in direct manufacturing over the next two years” at the Fort Worth plant, alongside unspecified spending on research and engineering in California. It gives no split between the two, no street address, no production start date and no name for the next-generation aircraft.
The Dallas Morning News, citing a statement made on Wing’s behalf, reported that the Fort Worth operation opened early this year. Wing’s announcement calls it “our newest” facility and leaves the opening date out. The Texas governor’s office had posted no incentive announcement by Friday evening, and Wing’s post names none.
“The U.S. is our focus for growth,” Wing CEO Adam Woodworth said in the post.
The Plant Sits in the Metro Where Wing Flies 19 Walmart Stores
Wing has flown from Fort Worth Walmart stores since it opened its first local site at 8520 N. Beach St. in June 2024. The Fort Worth Report counts 19 local Walmart locations today, two of them in North Richland Hills, and Walmart also contracts Zipline for North Texas deliveries.
Nationally, Wing says it serves more than 70 sites, has made more than one million US home deliveries this year, and plans to reach 40 million Americans across nearly 20 metros by 2027. The seven markets named in June, San Diego, Memphis, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Salt Lake City and the San Francisco Bay Area, are still waiting for aircraft, and Denver and Seattle were added in October for 2027.
The aircraft Wing flies today, its two Hummingbird variants, cruise at up to 60 mph (97 km/h), carry up to five pounds (2.3 kilograms) and lower the package on a tether. Heather Rivera, Wing’s chief business officer, said in the statement that “drone delivery isn’t just a novelty” and that customers use it several times a week.
Part 108 as Drafted Favors US-Built Aircraft, and It Is Still Unsigned
The FAA’s Part 108 rule has sat in White House review since July 10, 119 days as of Friday, and Wing’s post cites its “upcoming release” as the trigger for expansion. The 2025 draft ties airworthiness acceptance for foreign-built aircraft to a bilateral agreement with the country of origin.
A factory in Texas sidesteps that clause entirely. Wing and Zipline both fly today under Part 135 air carrier approvals, site by site, and both have now put their 2026 spending into domestic production before the rule that would make routine BVLOS flight legal is signed.
DroneXL’s Take
Wing’s output figure matters more than its dollar figure. Wing left 30 written safety questions from DroneXL unanswered in September, and its announcements this fall have carried store counts, metro counts and delivery totals but never an aircraft count. A plant sized for tens of thousands of aircraft a year, feeding 270 stores, is the first hard figure anyone has seen on where Wing’s fleet is going. It is also far bigger than anything a city council has been shown. Northglenn, Colorado drafted an ordinance in September that would make aircraft count, altitude and flight frequency a condition of any drone hub permit, and I think every city on Wing’s June list should copy it. Wing just published a production number for Fort Worth, so it can put a fleet number in the next permit file it hands a city.
Sources: Wing, Fort Worth Report, The Dallas Morning News
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