There will be restrictions on its American effort. The drone deliveries will be limited to parts of southwest Virginia, where Wing is already part of an F.A.A. pilot program looking at how to integrate drones with society. The exact locations are still being determined.

The drones can be operated only during the day, when the weather is clear enough that they can be seen, said Greg Martin, an F.A.A. spokesman.

They can’t fly above 400 feet (planes and helicopters typically fly above 500 feet). One drone pilot can remotely fly up to five machines, though it’s not clear if there’s a hard cap on the total number of drones allowed in the sky at one time.

Even with the restrictions, the drones’ backers portrayed the F.A.A.’s approval, called an Air Carrier Certification, as game changing, particularly as regulations, technology and public aversion have slowed the progress of drone-delivery initiatives.

“From our perspective, it’s more treating drones like manned aviation,” said Mark Blanks, director of the Virginia Tech Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership, one of the organizations involved in the pilot program. “That accomplishment is huge, and I think it’s a preview of the future of where this is headed.”