Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s a drone delivery service coming soon to the Walmart store in Herriman at 5056 W. 13400 South. Walmart’s store manager Brock Rose is excited to get the delivery program up-and-flying.

“The drone flies off and customers are supposed to get their order within 30 minutes from the time they placed the order,” Rose said. “It’s pretty simple.”

Walmart partnered with a third-party company, DroneUp, to provide the delivery service that can go to any home within a two-mile radius of the store. The Herriman Walmart is one of only two Utah locations testing the service, with the second store in Lindon. 

For a delivery fee of $3.99, customers can request drone delivery for any of the 10,000 eligible items and the total delivery must be under 10 pounds. The drone will fly up to 100 feet in the air, go to the customer’s home and drop off the package, via cable, at the designated location. 

Rose isn’t sure why the Herriman location was selected as a test site, but he’s ready to be part of the process.

“There was a lot of research that went into the decision, like demographics,” Rose said. “DroneUp worked with Walmart to start up in these locations, I don’t know the reason we were selected. But we’re happy to have it. We’re excited.”

Testing is still underway and a start-date for drone delivery hasn’t been announced. There are many Federal Aviation Administration requirements the service has to comply with before launching, including safe flight plans that don’t fly directly over parked cars and creating a way for drones to get up and over the building. 

“They’ll fly in a designated path that’s been approved by the FAA and that drone will put the item where it needs to be,” Rose said.

Walmart has expanded its drone delivery network to 36 sites in Utah, Virginia, Texas, Arizona, Florida and Arkansas. DroneUp has completed more than 6,000 deliveries for the retail giant.

Participating stores have a DroneUp delivery team on-site with certified pilots managing flight operations to ensure the drones are operating within federal guidelines.