Amazon Unveils Next-Gen Delivery Drone, Launching in UK and Italy in 2023

Starting approximately a year from now, Amazon customers in the UK and Italy will soon have the option to receive their deliveries via drone, a milestone announced by the retail giant on Wednesday.

Although Amazon has been successfully using drones for small package deliveries in Texas and California for over a year, this marks the first expansion of the service outside the United States. Specific locations within the UK and Italy where the service will debut have not yet been disclosed.

The unveiling coincided with Amazon's introduction of its latest-generation delivery drone, the MK30. While it maintains a similar carrying capacity (around 2.2kg) to its predecessor, this new drone boasts improvements in being "quieter, smaller and lighter."

Moreover, the MK30 extends the range compared to previous Prime Air drone models, with nearly half the noise level, and is designed to operate in a wider range of weather conditions. Unlike its predecessor, it can handle light rain, wind, high temperatures, and other challenging scenarios.

The latest drone features advanced sense-and-avoid technology, allowing it to navigate around obstacles seamlessly. Its innovative design adopts a tiltrotor concept, functioning like a helicopter during takeoff and seamlessly transitioning into horizontal wing-borne flight once airborne. 

David Carbon, vice president of Amazon’s Prime Air programme, told reporters during a press conference that the tech giant would ultimately dispatch drones from a string of locations across the US, UK, and Italy. 

“We will open more facilities over time,” he said. “This is not a market test. Our customers, and frankly our communities, need this type of sustainable service.”