Amazon The company said on Tuesday it had received regulatory approval to start flying smaller, quieter delivery drones, the latest step in a long-running effort to launch this future project.
company unveiling In November 2022, this new drone called MK30 was released. At the time, the company said that, among other changes, the MK30 could fly in light rain and have twice the range of earlier models.
Amazon said the FAA’s approval includes allowing the MK30 to fly longer distances and beyond the pilot’s line of sight. The agency granted a similar exemption to Amazon’s Prime Air program in Mayalthough this is limited to flights to College Station, Texas, one of the cities where the company has been conducting tests.
In addition to receiving FAA approval, Prime Air director of regulatory affairs Matt McCardle explain The company began drone deliveries near Phoenix, Arizona, on Tuesday. April, Amazon Indicates plan start Drone operations in Tolleson, a city west of Phoenix, come after an earlier test site in Rockford, Calif., was shut down. The company will dispatch drones near a warehouse in Tolleson as it looks to integrate Prime Air more closely into its existing logistics network and further speed up deliveries.
An FAA spokesman said the agency approved Amazon’s beyond visual line-of-sight delivery at Tolleson on Oct. 31.
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos First announced plan For the ambitious service launched more than a decade ago, it was said at the time that the scheme could be up and running within five years. Although Amazon has invested billions of dollars in the program, progress has been slow.
Meet Prime Air regulatory hurdlesmissed deadlines, and There were layoffs last yearcoinciding with CEO Andy Jassy’s broad cost-cutting efforts. The program has also lost a number of key managers, including its Primary Liaison with the FAA and its founding leader. Amazon hires ex boeing company Executive David Carbon runs the business.
It has also encountered pushback from some residents in cities where it has tried drone deliveries. College Station residents complained about noise levels enough to prompt the city’s mayor to address the issues in a letter to the Federal Aviation Administration, CNBC previously reported. In response, Amazon executives told residents the company would identify a new launch site for drone delivery by October 2025.
Amazon isn’t the only company trying to break into drone delivery. It competes with Wing, owned by Google’s parent company letter; ups; Walmart; and numerous startups including Zipline and Matternet.
