Amazon and UK Government Partner on Drones

Small parcels may soon be delivered via drone rather than fleet van or truck if a new partnership between Amazon and the UK Government takes off.

Here’s what’s new” A cross-Government team supported by the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has provided Amazon with permissions to explore three key innovations: beyond line of sight operations in rural and suburban areas, testing sensor performance to make sure the drones can identify and avoid obstacles, and flights where one person operates multiple highly-automated drones.

“The UK is a leader in enabling drone innovation – we’ve been investing in Prime Air research and development here for quite some time,” said Paul Misener, Amazon’s Vice President of Global Innovation Policy and Communications. “This announcement strengthens our partnership with the UK and brings Amazon closer to our goal of using drones to safely deliver parcels in 30 minutes to customers in the UK and elsewhere around the world.”

As the UK’s aviation safety regulator, the CAA will be fully involved in this work to explore the potential for safe use of drones beyond line of sight.

The online retailing giant is turning to its Amazon Prime Air as a future delivery system to safely get packages up to 5 pounds to customers in 30 minutes or less using small drones.

Category: Featured