Skyways and Shell Get the First FAA Approval to Fly a Cargo Drone Beyond Sight Over the High Seas as Skyways Starts Skyreach Customer Flights
Skyways, an Austin drone company, said on November 9 that it and Shell Pipeline Company have received FAA approval to fly an uncrewed aircraft from the US coast out over the high seas, beyond the pilot’s line of sight. Skyways calls it the first authorization of its kind for an uncrewed aircraft. The same day it launched Skyreach, the production version of its long-range cargo drone, with customer flights starting in December.
The Gulf flight
The approval came through the FAA’s Section 927 waiver process. The mission runs from Shell’s pipeline facility in Gibson, Louisiana, to an offshore platform in the Gulf. On the way out, the aircraft inspects the pipeline right-of-way. At the platform, it simulates delivering a piece of critical equipment. One flight does both jobs.
The aircraft is Skyways’ V2, a hybrid that takes off and lands vertically on electric motors and cruises on a heavy-fuel engine. Control runs over satellite, which is what makes flying far past the horizon possible. Skyways says it has flown about 3,500 autonomous flights and roughly 90,000 kilometres worldwide.
Offshore logistics today means boats and helicopters. A boat is slow, and a helicopter is expensive and needs crew. For an urgent part or a routine inspection run, a drone that can do both in a single trip is a real cost cut, if it works reliably and the FAA lets it scale. Skyways expects the approval to lead to more frequent inspections and paid cargo flights in the Gulf, but it gives no timeline.
Skyreach
Skyreach is the production version of the aircraft Skyways developed as V3 Block 2, funded by a $37 million AFWERX STRATFI award from the Air Force in June 2025. Production has started in Austin. The headline numbers:
- More than 1,300 miles one way with 10 lb of cargo, or more than 280 miles with 80 lb
- 18-plus hours of endurance
- A 7 cubic foot bay with 100 lb of combined fuel and payload; 360 lb maximum takeoff weight
- Eight electric motors for takeoff and landing, a heavy-fuel cruise engine running on JP-5 or Jet A-1, and a generator that recharges the batteries in flight
- Winds up to 40 knots and temperatures from -5°F to 120°F
Skyways gives no price, only that it costs roughly a tenth of a helicopter. Its customers so far include the Marine Corps, Navy and Air Force, and CEO Charles Acknin wants a network of more than 1,000 autonomous aircraft within five years.
What to watch
The range-versus-payload trade is the honest headline. Skyreach goes far with a small package, or carries 80 lb a moderate distance. That suits spare parts, medical supplies and samples, not bulk freight. The FAA approval is a waiver for a specific operation, not a general rule, so each new route and customer still needs its own approval. The first paid offshore cargo flights, and how quickly the FAA grants the next waivers, will show whether this becomes a business or stays a string of firsts.