Amazon says it plans to offer drone deliveries in nearly 500 U.S. cities and towns by the end of the year, signaling momentum for a program that has been slow to develop since founder Jeff Bezos first outlined the vision nearly 13 years ago.
The planned expansion of Amazon’s Prime Air service would represent a sixfold increase from its current footprint, the company said in a blog post.
The update comes five months after David Carbon, vice president of Prime Air, outlined ambitious growth plans during an internal all-hands meeting.
Carbon said Prime Air would make 1 million deliveries this year and that Amazon has the “highest demand drone delivery service in the industry.” Amazon said on Wednesday it had made hundreds of thousands of deliveries so far this year and was making thousands each day.
Bezos, who stepped down as Amazon’s CEO five years ago, pledged in 2013 to build a network of drones capable of delivering small packages within 30 minutes. The program has since faced regulatory delays, staff cuts, technical challenges and opposition from some communities involved in early trials.
Amazon received regulatory approval in 2024 to conduct longer-range drone deliveries. Over the past year, it has expanded beyond its initial markets near Dallas and Phoenix to 11 metropolitan areas, with six more locations expected to come online soon.
Some residents in those markets have continued to raise concerns about drone noise, privacy and the potential impact on property values.
Amazon is seeking to make drone delivery a larger part of its rapid-delivery network as it expands same-day and one-day shipping options. Most Prime Air packages arrive in about 60 minutes, although Amazon said some drone deliveries have been completed within minutes of checkout.
“Customers continue to demand faster delivery times,” Carbon told staffers in March. “Bottom line is we have yet to reach diminishing returns when it comes to how fast we deliver to our customers.”
Amazon faces growing competition in the drone-delivery market. Alphabet’s Wing surpassed 1 million commercial drone deliveries earlier this year and operates in 20 U.S. markets through partners including Walmart and DoorDash. Drone delivery startup Zipline operates across four continents and has made 2 million deliveries.
Broader product range
Amazon’s drones can carry packages weighing up to 5 pounds within a 7.5-mile radius of its facilities. The company has expanded the number of products eligible for drone delivery by integrating its operations into some robotic sorting centers, which are larger and hold more products than the same-day delivery hubs where drones have traditionally been based.
Prime Air is also testing a new delivery mechanism that could allow it to transport a wider range of products, including fragile goods such as eggs and other perishables, Carbon said.
The company is testing a “gentle delivery option” with some customers that uses a retractable tether to lower packages to the ground. The current system releases packages from a height of about 13 feet. Wing and Zipline also use tethered delivery systems.
Amazon’s drone program has faced safety investigations. In October, two Amazon drones collided with a crane in Tolleson, Arizona, prompting investigations by the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration.
“At the time, we were detecting these cranes above the industry standard,” Carbon said. “We trained our algorithms, we felt pretty good, but we found in the real world the performance just wasn’t good enough and let me tell you, that was a humbling experience.”
Amazon also faces an FAA investigation after one of its drones in November struck an internet cable while ascending from a customer’s yard in Waco, Texas.
The company has faced scrutiny outside the United States as well. Britain’s Air Accidents Investigation Branch opened an investigation last month after a Prime Air drone crashed into a garden in Darlington, England.
Amazon said it believed the drone had come into contact with an object extending above the roof of a moving vehicle. The company, which began drone deliveries in Darlington in February, said the drone operated as designed and landed safely. No injuries were reported.
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