Overview
- Amazon announced Wednesday that Prime Air will reach nearly 500 U.S. cities and towns by the end of 2026, a roughly sixfold increase from its current footprint.
- Prime Air uses MK30 autonomous drones that carry most packages up to 5 pounds within about a 7.5‑mile radius and can deliver items in as little as 30 minutes.
- Amazon says the service has completed hundreds of thousands of drone deliveries so far in 2026 and an executive projected the program could reach about 1 million deliveries this year.
- The expansion relies on FAA Part 135 certification and recent permissions for longer‑range flights, but federal probes into incidents — including two drones hitting a crane in Tolleson, Arizona, a drone severing an internet cable in Waco, Texas, and a crash in the U.K. — and local noise and privacy concerns will affect rollout speed.
- Amazon counts nearly 500 'cities and towns' by mapping the roughly 175‑square‑mile service area of each site rather than building 500 new launch hubs, and Prime members get free drone delivery on eligible $50 orders with fees for smaller or non‑Prime orders.