The first large-scale use of drones for beyond visual line of site (BVLOS) pickup and delivery may be at sea. The Navy is deploying drones capable of carrying up to 50 pounds to test them as ship-to-ship couriers within carrier groups and beyond. The drones will be based on the carrier and dispatch as needed to carry parts or needed supplies from ship to ship. The drones will have a range of up to 200 miles. That kind of thing is usually done with helicopters and since they’re usually busy with other things it can throw a wrench into operations.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/navy-to-test-package-drones-at-sea