The world’s largest online retailer, Amazon, is expanding its drone program to include deliveries in suburban backyards in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Italy. The Australian aerospace veteran leading Amazon’s drone program expressed his commitment to bringing flying deliveries to Australia, although they have not yet been added to the company’s launch schedule.
This expansion of Amazon’s drone delivery plans coincides with Google’s own efforts in this area. Google is currently conducting drone deliveries of coffee, food, and groceries in Queensland, Australia. Additionally, the Civil Aviation and Safety Authority in Australia is considering relaxing some drone restrictions, further fostering the growth of drone delivery services.
During Amazon’s Delivering the Future event in Seattle, the company announced its plans for drones. David Carbon, the Vice President of Prime Air, revealed that six months of testing the new drone model, the Mark 30, had given them confidence to expand their operations. Carbon explained that the autonomous and electric drone would be able to deliver packages the size of a shoebox, weighing less than five pounds, to customers in under 60 minutes. He emphasized that although the packages may seem small, they represent a significant portion of what customers typically order within a two-hour timeframe.
The new drone model is notable for being 40 percent quieter than its predecessor and is equipped with “sense and avoid technology” to detect unexpected obstacles such as pets, vehicles, and trees. This technology enables the drones to land in smaller backyards and deliver to apartment buildings, allowing Amazon to expand its drone services to more markets. Carbon revealed that by the end of the following year, their goal is to use the Mark 30 to launch deliveries from a third location in the US while also establishing premier sites in Italy and the UK. Although there is no specific timeline for Australia, Carbon assured that Amazon intends to make drone deliveries available in all the countries where they have customers, including Australia.
Carbon also shared that Amazon aims to achieve 500 million drone deliveries per year by 2030, prioritizing safety above all else. He emphasized that drone deliveries would be exponentially safer than driving to a physical store. Alongside Amazon, Wing, a subsidiary of Google, is conducting drone delivery tests in two US states and in Australia. While Wing closed its operations in Canberra this year, it expanded its drone flights to the suburbs of Logan and Ipswich in Queensland, partnering with DoorDash to deliver drinks, meals, medication, and groceries to customers in 17 suburbs.
The Australian regulator, the Civil Aviation and Safety Authority (CASA), has recently initiated new discussions about drone regulations, specifically seeking input from pilots regarding remote operation, particularly in regional areas. These conversations reflect the ongoing efforts to ensure the safe and efficient integration of drones into Australian airspace.