Let's scroll the timeline shall we?
Zipline pioneered blood deliveries in Rwanda using fixed-wing aircraft in effectively unregulated airspace. They tried to contract with Ghana for $17 per delivery and Ghana balked; I'm not willing to believe that $17 number was unsubsidized. They're now delivering in Ghana but I can't find any information about contracts.
So here we are: your practical drone delivery platform is a 55kg tilt-rotor with triple redundancy that never drops below 300ft. It requires intensive logistical support, substantial regulatory carve-out and massive subsidy. Yet McKinsey thinks this can be done for $1.80 per delivery.. DroneUp is hyping "less than $3." They crypto sites are hyping "less than 25 cents" because of course they are but if a fixed-wing in Africa launched by a bunjee cord is $17, Uber Eats ain't touchin' that shit for less than $20 and we all know it.