--- description: The online retail giant is moving toward its planned “Prime Air” drone delivery system title: Amazon Wants Permission to Test Prime Air Drones in U.S. image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltae61d894354ce43d/69869920169ab0517f27a0fc/amazon-prime-air.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Technology](/tag/technology/) ## Technology Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Amazon Wants to Test-Fly Its New Delivery Drones  by [Denver Nicks](/author/denver-nicks/)  ## Denver Nicks Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 11, 2014 11:58 AM CUT  This undated image provided by Amazon.com shows the so-called Prime Air unmanned aircraft project that Amazon is working on in its research and development labs. This undated image provided by Amazon.com shows the so-called Prime Air unmanned aircraft project that Amazon is working on in its research and development labs.Amazon/AP  by [Denver Nicks](/author/denver-nicks/)  ## Denver Nicks Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 11, 2014 11:58 AM CUT Amazon has formally [asked](http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/07/11/us-amazon-com-drones-idUSKBN0FG08B20140711 "undefined") regulators permission to test its controversial and much-hyped [delivery drones](http://business.time.com/2013/12/02/amazons-drone-strike/ "undefined") in outdoor areas near Seattle. The move, made in a letter posted to the Federal Aviation Administration’s website Thursday, escalates an ongoing debate about the safety of commercial drones and privacy concerns associated with the technology. In its July 9 letter from Amazon’s head of global public policy Paul Misener, the company said drone delivery will one day be “as normal as seeing mail trucks on the road today,” Reuters reports. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos [unveiled](http://techland.time.com/2013/12/01/amazon-bezos-drones/ "undefined") the company’s still-in-development “Prime Air” drone delivery service on the _60 Minutes_ television program last year but said it was still about five years away from actual implementation. The company has been conducting delivery drone test flights indoors and in other countries, but now Bezos wants to conduct tests in the open air, according to the letter. “Of course, Amazon would prefer to keep the focus, jobs and investment of this important research and development initiative in the United States,” the company said in its letter. The U.S. government has [designated](http://swampland.time.com/2013/12/30/drones-will-be-tested-in-six-states/ "undefined") six sites where tests can be conducted for commercial drone applications—in Alaska, Nevada, New York, North Dakota, Texas and Virginia—but such tests are currently [prohibited](http://business.time.com/2013/12/02/amazons-drone-strike/ "undefined") in the Seattle area, where Amazon is based. \[[_Reuters_](http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/07/11/us-amazon-com-drones-idUSKBN0FG08B20140711 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/2976103/amazon-drones-prime-air-test-flights/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/2976103/amazon-drones-prime-air-test-flights/"},"headline":"Amazon Wants to Test-Fly Its New Delivery Drones","datePublished":"2014-07-11T11:58:50.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:02:45.334Z","description":"The online retail giant is moving toward its planned “Prime Air” drone delivery system","url":"https://time.com/2976103/amazon-drones-prime-air-test-flights/","keywords":["Technology","Tech","Amazon","Seattle","Jeff Bezos","Drones","privacy","FAA"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltae61d894354ce43d/69869920169ab0517f27a0fc/amazon-prime-air.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Denver Nicks","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/denver-nicks/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltae61d894354ce43d/69869920169ab0517f27a0fc/amazon-prime-air.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"This undated image provided by Amazon.com shows the so-called Prime Air unmanned aircraft project that Amazon is working on in its research and development labs.","caption":"This undated image provided by Amazon.com shows the so-called Prime Air unmanned aircraft project that Amazon is working on in its research and development labs.","creditText":"Amazon/AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/technology/","name":"Technology"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/2976103/amazon-drones-prime-air-test-flights/","name":"Amazon Wants to Test-Fly Its New Delivery Drones"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Amazon Prime Air","description":"Amazon Prime Air","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/qRxEOxYp/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-07-11T14:14:57.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/qRxEOxYp.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/2976103/amazon-drones-prime-air-test-flights/","duration":"PT1M19S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/2976103/amazon-drones-prime-air-test-flights/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```