Amazon’s US drone test approval is already obsolete

US regulators finally gave Amazon permission to test its delivery drones last week but it turns out that the approval took too long to come in and now, the model drone that Amazon just got permission to test, isn't even in use anymore.

In a statement sent to a Senate subcommittee in the US earlier this week, Amazon expressed its disappointment in the FAA for its ‘draconian attitudes’ towards the company’s new drone delivery initiative.

Amazon’s VP of global public policy explained that while the FAA was taking its sweet time and hindering the company’s US based plans, it had actually gone to other countries where the rules were less strict and begun testing new drones.

“While the FAA was considering our applications for testing, we innovated so rapidly that the drone approved last week by the FAA has become obsolete. We don’t test it anymore. We’ve moved on to more advanced designs that we already are testing abroad”.

“Nowhere outside of the United States have we been required to wait more than one or two months to begin testing, and permission has been granted for operating a category of UAS, giving us room to experiment and rapidly perfect designs without being required to continually obtain new approvals for specific UAS vehicles.”

Amazon eventually hopes to use drones to deliver packages within half an hour of an order being placed. The idea was revealed last year and since then, Amazon has been working on its technology outside of the US.

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KitGuru Says: It looks like the FAA took too long giving Amazon permission to begin testing its drones on home soil but the company has had better success elsewhere in the world, notably Europe.

Via: The Verge

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