A California startup called Zipline International has announced a partnership with the government of Rwanda to use its fixed-wing cargo drones to deliver medical supplies to remote health clinics in the East African nation. The Zip aircraft is made by Bay Area startup Zipline, which will begin drone delivery of blood and medicine to remote Rwandan clinics later this year. SAN FRANCISCO-- How's this for a flight plan to get a drone delivery service financially aloft? Carry cargo that's of live-saving importance, fly long-range fixed-wing aircraft in uncongested skies, and score a government as your first client. That's the atypical approach being taken by Zipline, a Bay Area startup that has raised 18 million in funding from Yahoo founder Jerry Yang, Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen and others.

Drones may known for their prowess in the skies, but thanks to some new developments at the U.S. Navy, they'll soon be turning the open seas into their turf as well. A new video shows off an autonomous watercraft dreamed into reality from the men and women at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency ( DARPA), all with the hopes of tracking submarines that that haunt the depths of the ocean. The very first prototype hopes to demonstrate the potential of what will ultimately become a fleet of unmanned ships, known as Anti-Submarine Warfare Continuous Trail Unmanned Vessels (to be pronounced "active" for short). The 132 foot long vessel managed to log a top speed of 27 knots during its test in Portland, Oregon, and it'll be ready for open seas this summer when it launches from the California coast. The drone ship's official christening is fast approaching on April 7, and the Navy seems pretty excited by the prospects of "an unmanned vessel optimized to robustly track quiet diesel electric submarines."

It might sound odd that Rwanda will have an established a drone network before the United States, but it makes sense for the country to deliver lifesaving cargo using drones. In developing nations, you often have to deal with unpaved -- or even lack of -- roads, heavy traffic, lack of access to transportation, among other things. With a drone network in place, a clinic can send a text message, and a drone could be there in 30 minutes if it's within 90 miles of the UAVs' homebase. That said, a startup called Flirtey recently made the first FAA-approved drone delivery in Nevada, so the industry is at least making some progress in the US. Rwanda plans to expand its drone network's capabilities to benefit the country's economy.

Big drone makers aren't satisfied with existing efforts to get in the US government's good books, apparently. DJI, 3D Robotics, GoPro and Parrot have forged the Drone Manufacturers Alliance to lobby for a "carefully balanced regulatory framework" that makes sure drones are "safely integrated" into American skies. In plainer language, they want to make sure that regulation doesn't run counter to their interests -- they don't want their business to fizzle out because of a future law.

Our sky is zoned for people. The Federal Aviation Administration, tasked with regulating the airspace above America, has elaborate rules for who and what can fly where. Out of an abundance of caution for human safety, the FAA tries to keep that airspace tidy, reserved for human-carrying vehicles. In a new regulation last week, they opened up just a little bit more of that sky for commercial use of drones, adding a robotic floor to the heavens. "FAA Doubles "Blanket" Altitude for Many [Unmanned Aerial System] Flights" is how the FAA framed the announcement, and that's technically true.

A committee sponsored by the US government is recommending standards that could clear the way for commercial drone flights over populated areas and help speed the introduction of package delivery drones and other uses not yet possible, the Associated Press has reported. The Federal Aviation Administration currently prohibits most commercial drone flights over populated areas, especially crowds. That ban frustrates a host of industries that want to take advantage of the technology. "Every TV station in the country wants one, but they can't be limited to flying in the middle of nowhere because there's no news in the middle of nowhere," said Jim Williams, a former head of FAA's drone office who now advises the industry for Dentons, an international law firm. Cellular network providers also want to loosen restrictions so drones, also known as unmanned aerial vehicles, can inspect cell towers, which often are in urban areas.

A U.S. government-backed committee has reportedly recommended that the Federal Aviation Administration loosen restrictions on the use of commercial drones, a crucial first step to wider business applications for unmanned aerial vehicles. The FAA's Aviation Rulemaking Committee of industry leaders and agency officials late Friday recommended easing restrictions that prohibit businesses from flying unmanned aerial vehicles over populated areas in some cases. FAA spokesman Les Dorr says the agency received the report on Saturday and needs time to review the recommendations. The committee's report, obtained by the Associated Press, recommends the creation of four categories of drones. Devices weighing half a pound or less would have essentially no limits on flying over crowds if the manufacturer could ensure a 99 percent chance that it would not injure someone even if it fell on them.

Drone delivery might be years away in the U.S., but it's becoming a reality in Rwanda this summer. A San Francisco-based drone delivery company says it'll start making its first deliveries of blood and medicine in Rwanda in July. Zipline International Inc., backed by tech heavyweights like Sequoia Capital and Google Ventures, demonstrated its technology for journalists last week in an open field in the San Francisco Bay area. In a demo broadcast on Periscope on Friday, a staffer launched a fixed-wing plane weighing just 22 pounds off a launcher that used compressed air. Electric-powered propellers took it the rest of the way, on a flight that could extend to 75 miles round trip, using military-grade GPS and software to navigate. As it dipped low before the drop-off area, the bottom popped open, and a cardboard box with a parachute made of butcher paper and biodegradable tape burst out, plopping to the ground a few steps away from CEO Keller Rinaudo, who walked over to retrieve it.

According to documents seen by AP, the committee has divided drones into four separate categories for flights over people. The first includes drones under a half-pound with no flight restrictions. However, the manufacturer would have to certify that there would be no more than one percent chance of a person being hurt if it fell on them. The second category is for the most common type of recreational and commercial models by the likes of DJI (above), 3D Robotics and others. Those range from four to five pounds in size, though there would be no set weight limit, according to the AP.

Drone delivery might be years away in the U.S., but it's becoming a reality in Rwanda this summer. A San Francisco-based drone delivery company says it'll start making its first deliveries of blood and medicine in Rwanda in July. Zipline International Inc., backed by tech heavyweights like Sequoia Capital and Google Ventures, demonstrated its technology for journalists last week in an open field in the San Francisco Bay area. In a demo broadcast on Periscope on Friday, a staffer launched a fixed-wing plane weighing just 22 pounds off a launcher that used compressed air. Electric-powered propellers took it the rest of the way, on a flight that could extend to 75 miles round trip, using military-grade GPS and software to navigate.