DroneWaves: Navigating on-demand drone delivery to the burbs

Flytrex seeks to deliver cost-effective food and retail options to customers’ backyards

FreightWaves’ Anthony Smith discusses the future of drone delivery and dispels misconceptions about the industry with Yariv Bash during DroneWaves Summit.

This fireside chat recap is from FreightWaves’ DroneWaves Summit.

FIRESIDE CHAT TOPIC: Flying beyond the line of sight

DETAILS: FreightWaves’ Anthony Smith discusses the future of drone delivery and dispels misconceptions about the industry with Yariv Bash.

SPEAKER: Bash is the co-founder and CEO of Flytrex Aviation, which provides autonomous drone delivery solutions for the food and retail sectors. His company was the first in the world to deploy a B2C drone delivery system in an urban environment in Reykjavik, Iceland. Flytrex is part of the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) commercial drone pilot program.

BIO: Previously, Bash was the co-founder and the first CEO of SpaceIL, a $100 million Israeli nonprofit organization that attempted to land Beresheet, the first private interplanetary robotic mission, on the moon in April 2019. 

KEY QUOTES FROM BASH:

“We’re doing all deliveries, and most specifically, we’re doing backyard deliveries, focusing on food from restaurants, retail foods straight to people’s backyards. We’ve been working with the FAA for almost four years now on building a certifiable aviation vehicle that can perform $5 deliveries to backyards, which is a bit of a miracle.”

On the current phase of the FAA’s commercial drone pilot program: “How do you fly beyond the visual line of sight? How do you build a system that can now really scale and have multiple companies flying in the same airspace with manned airplanes sharing the same sky? You’ve only got one sky for everyone and that’s being solved these days.”

On backyard drone deliveries: “If you remember 20 years ago when you made online orders, let’s say, Amazon, you added items to your cart. And then you checked out and you selected how fast you wanted it versus how much it would cost you. Today, most people just click ‘buy now.’ With drone deliveries, we can take on-demand to that level. So if you eat tomatoes for dinner, just click ‘buy now’ and get them in 15 minutes or less.”

Upcoming FreightWaves Events
Compliance

Brokerage Compliance Symposium

The day before F3. Every compliance issue you face - fraud exposure, carrier liability, FMCSA rules, cargo theft, insurance gaps - navigated by attorneys and operators defining best practices in a changing industry.

October 26, 2026
The Signal at Chattanooga Choo Choo • Chattanooga, TN
Register Now
Awards

F3 Awards Dinner

The night before F3. FreightTech100 companies honored. FreightTech 25 and Shipper of Choice winners revealed live. Cocktail reception into dinner and live music - 300 industry leaders in one purpose-built room.

October 26, 2026
The Signal at Chattanooga Choo Choo • Chattanooga, TN
Register Now
FreightTech

F3: Future of Freight Festival

Industry-defining keynotes, rapid-fire technology demos, and industry leaders networking in experiences across Chattanooga - plus the inaugural F3 Awards Dinner featuring the FreightTech and Shipper of Choice reveals.

October 27, 2026 – October 28, 2026
The Signal at Chattanooga Choo Choo • Chattanooga, TN
Register Now
Compliance Brokerage Compliance Symposium Oct 26 • The Signal at Chattanooga Choo Choo • Chattanooga, TN

The day before F3. Every compliance issue you face - fraud exposure, carrier liability, FMCSA rules, cargo theft, insurance gaps - navigated by attorneys and operators defining best practices in a changing industry.

The Signal at Chattanooga Choo Choo • Chattanooga, TN Register Now
Awards F3 Awards Dinner Oct 26 • The Signal at Chattanooga Choo Choo • Chattanooga, TN

The night before F3. FreightTech100 companies honored. FreightTech 25 and Shipper of Choice winners revealed live. Cocktail reception into dinner and live music - 300 industry leaders in one purpose-built room.

The Signal at Chattanooga Choo Choo • Chattanooga, TN Register Now
FreightTech F3: Future of Freight Festival Oct 27 – Oct 28 • The Signal at Chattanooga Choo Choo • Chattanooga, TN

Industry-defining keynotes, rapid-fire technology demos, and industry leaders networking in experiences across Chattanooga - plus the inaugural F3 Awards Dinner featuring the FreightTech and Shipper of Choice reveals.

The Signal at Chattanooga Choo Choo • Chattanooga, TN Register Now

Clarissa Hawes

Clarissa has covered all aspects of the trucking industry for 18 years. She is an award-winning journalist known for her investigative and business reporting. Before joining FreightWaves, she wrote for Land Line Magazine and Trucks.com. If you have a news tip or story idea, send her an email to chawes@firecrown.com or @cage_writer on X, formerly Twitter.