Amazon Expands Drone Delivery Program to Nearly 500 US Cities
Amazon's Prime Air drone delivery program is expanding to nearly 500 US cities by the end of this year, marking a sixfold increase from its current footprint of 11 metro areas. The move aims to meet customer demand for faster delivery times and follows a decade-long research project.
The company has already made hundreds of thousands of drone deliveries in 2026, with thousands occurring daily. Amazon's current MK30 drone, designed and built in-house, has a range of approximately 7.5 miles and can carry packages weighing up to 5 pounds.
Prime members pay $2.99 per drone delivery, while non-members pay a flat fee of $4.99. The service is part of Amazon's broader strategy to compress delivery times across its network, with CEO Andy Jassy aiming for 30-minute delivery windows by the end of the decade.
The expansion comes as Amazon faces increasing competition in the drone delivery market from companies like Alphabet Inc.'s Wing and Zipline. Despite regulatory scrutiny and community pushback, Prime Air continues to face challenges such as tree cover, landscaping features, and inflatable pools that complicate finding suitable drop zones.