• German drone delivery provider Wingcopter has received approval for its airworthiness criteria from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for its drone model “Wingcopter 198.”

• The airworthiness certification signifies that an aircraft meets the approved type design and is safe for operation.

• The company is currently in the process of obtaining Type Certification (approval of the aircraft design and components), and meeting the airworthiness criteria comes as a part of the process.

• Wincopter believes today’s approval will also further its international expansion strategy as well.

<ul><li> Analyst QuickTake: Wingcopter now joins several peer drone-based delivery companies to have obtained the approval for airworthiness in the US including Zipline, Matternet, SkyDrop (formerly Flirtey), and MissionGo. However, to start commercial trials, a drone company needs to obtain further approval from the FAA (Part 135 certification). Thus far, a handful of drone developers including Google’s drone-based delivery arm Wing, UPS Flight Forward, and Amazon Prime Air have secured the approval.</ul>