Wing's Chief of International Aircraft Management, Mark Blanks
Mark Blanks Leads the Way in Global Drone Delivery
Mark Blanks, the Head of Global Flight Operations, Standards, and Regulatory Affairs at Wing, is spearheading the company's mission to build the operational foundation for global drone delivery. Under his leadership, Wing is aligning with evolving regulations around Remote ID, UTM, and airspace safety to grow responsibly while helping shape global aviation policy.
Blanks leads Wing's global flight operations, regulatory alignment, and safety protocols to ensure drone delivery systems meet aviation-grade safety standards and operate seamlessly in different airspaces. His responsibilities include flight planning, pilot oversight, maintenance policies, and international compliance frameworks.
At Wing, Blanks oversees teams that manage every part of the flight process, from planning and pilot training to fleet maintenance and safety checks. These teams support delivery operations in the United States, Australia, Ireland, and Finland. Under Mark Blanks' leadership, Wing aims to operate safely and set the standard for autonomous aviation.
Beyond internal operations, Blanks chairs the ASTM F38 Committee on Unmanned Aircraft Systems. This committee is actively developing performance-based standards and guidelines for safe and scalable drone delivery operations. The standards aim to support drone delivery at scale by addressing key challenges such as automation, risk management, and environmental impacts.
The ASTM F38 Committee's global standards for drone delivery emphasize performance-based risk management, weather resilience, operational safety, and regulatory harmonization—all critical for the scalable, safe deployment of drone delivery worldwide. However, specific published ASTM standards and detailed guidelines remain proprietary or under periodic update and are typically accessed under ASTM membership or regulatory adoption.
Before joining Wing, Blanks managed UAS research at Virginia Tech and contributed to the launch of the ASSURE Center of Excellence at Kansas State University. These experiences have given him deep expertise in flight testing, waiver development, and drone certification.
Mark Blanks views drone delivery as an essential part of future logistics infrastructure, emphasizing the importance of safety, regulation, predictability, standardization, continuous improvement, and public trust. He is leading the expansion of Wing's drone delivery program to include national drone corridors, cross-border UTM integration, and real-time airspace coordination. Blanks is also working towards global scaling of Wing's drone delivery program.
In addition, Blanks is a key figure in setting guidelines for safety, cybersecurity, and performance in the drone industry. His work at Wing is focused on ensuring drone delivery becomes part of modern infrastructure. Blanks' goal is to transition drone delivery from testing environments into daily life, making it an integral part of our future logistics landscape.
[1] ASTM International. (n.d.). UAS Standards. Retrieved from https://www.astm.org/Standards/UAS.htm [4] Small Unmanned Systems Coalition. (n.d.). ASTM F38 Committee on Unmanned Aircraft Systems. Retrieved from https://www.smallunmannedsystems.org/policy/astm-f38-committee-on-unmanned-aircraft-systems/
[1] Mark Blanks, with his extensive background in UAS research and drone certification, is currently setting guidelines for safety, cybersecurity, and performance in the drone industry, aiming to make drone delivery an integral part of modern infrastructure.
[2] As the Head of Global Flight Operations, Standards, and Regulatory Affairs at Wing, Blanks is aligning drone delivery operations with evolving regulations in finance, transportation, and aviation technology, such as Remote ID, UTM, and airspace safety, to grow responsibly while helping shape global aviation policy.
[3] Blanks' work at Wing includes leading the development of performance-based standards and guidelines for safe and scalable drone delivery operations, which reflect cybersecurity principles to protect the sensitive financial data involved in drone delivery transactions.
