Overview
- Amazon announced on Wednesday that Prime Air will reach nearly 500 U.S. cities and towns by the end of 2026, a roughly sixfold increase in its current footprint.
- The company says Prime Air has completed hundreds of thousands of drone deliveries this year and internally projected up to 1 million deliveries in 2026.
- Prime Air uses MK30 drones with onboard cameras, sensors and a Detect‑and‑Avoid system, and can carry most packages weighing 5 pounds or less within about a 7.5‑mile radius for deliveries that take as little as 30 minutes and usually about an hour.
- The expansion proceeds while federal probes and local scrutiny continue after safety incidents, including two drones striking a crane in Tolleson, Arizona and one severing an internet cable in Waco, Texas, and the program operates under FAA Part 135 certification.
- The move deepens competition with Walmart/Wing, Zipline, DoorDash and Uber and raises questions for residents and local officials about noise, privacy, permitting and the economics of replacing some van deliveries with drones.