Amazon's package delivery drone approved for testing

BELLEVUE, Wash., March 19 (UPI) -- The largest web retailer in the United States has grand visions of super quick product deliveries in the near future -- not by carrier, but by air drone. And Thursday it took a big step toward that goal.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration approved testing for Amazon's delivery drone, which now allows the Washington-based company to test fly the drone outdoors in a rural area, Britain's The Guardian reported.

The FAA's experimental airworthiness certificate does have restrictions. Amazon can only fly the drone at a maximum height of 400 feet and all test flights must be done in visible weather conditions. The license also allows Amazon to test the craft with its current specifications -- which means the company will have to apply for new certificates every time they modify something.

Additionally, operators of the drone must have a pilot's license and medical certification and Amazon must report monthly data to the FAA.

Amazon wants to develop the drone delivery method and offer it to Amazon Prime customers. The company has previously tested the drone prototype outside the United States. It first announced the project 15 months ago.

Of course, not all packages could be delivered by future drones. Right now, the idea basically limits package size for the drones to shoe box-sized parcels. It's unclear if Amazon might introduce further drones in the future to deliver larger packages.

Also, at some point Amazon must consider and address privacy and security concerns involving any type of delivery drone, a CNET report said. The prototype that received the FAA approval is about the size of a remote-controlled airplane.