Singapore to get its first drone food delivery service, thanks to Grab

January 7, 2026• byJeremy P.

The drone deliveries will only be open to consumers ordering from the Tanjong Rhu area

Grab has just announced a three-month pilot for drone food deliveries in Singapore, serving the Tanjong Rhu neighbourhood.

The initiative, which is currently in the “internal testing” phase, is run in partnership with ST Engineering’s Unmanned Air Systems division, the developer of the drone technology used in the trial.

The pilot aims to explore how autonomous technology can complement existing delivery networks and boost overall efficiency, said the company in a blog post on Tuesday (Jan 6).

Here’s how it will work, and what consumers can expect:

Up to 28 deliveries will be made every day

In Tanjong Rhu, the Kallang River separates homes from clusters of eateries. Longer delivery routes across the river can slow down trips, increase wait times, and complicate operations for delivery-partners.

Drones offer a solution by cutting across the river, reducing delivery times, and enabling partners to complete more trips efficiently.

While the company hasn’t announced an official launch date, Grab’s Drone Delivery (Beta) service will run Tuesday to Sunday, 10AM to 6PM, with up to 28 deliveries per day. Each round-trip flight is estimated to take around eight minutes.

Operations, however, will pause during wet weather and on public holidays.

For the drone service, food delivery riders still remain essential. They will bring orders to a designated drone launchpad at Republic Avenue and complete the final leg by delivering the food after the drone lands at a designated site in Tanjong Rhu.

Over 20 riders have been trained by ST Engineering on safe and efficient drone handoffs.

Privacy & community considerations

Grab said the pilot has been designed with both noise and privacy in mind. Navigation cameras on the drones will not store any footage, and the drones operate at noise levels comparable to a normal conversation.

For now, the trial will only be open to consumers ordering from within the Tanjong Rhu area and is limited to merchants from Bugis, Kampong Glam, and Suntec City.

This initiative follows a similar pilot in the Philippines in Jun 2024, where Grab tested a hybrid delivery model: food delivery riders handled pickups and drop-offs at dedicated drone landing stations, while drones completed the journey in between.

Grab shared that it will gather feedback from residents, delivery-partners, and regulators to understand where drone technology adds the most value once it’s rolled out—and how it can help solve everyday food delivery challenges.