Amazon gets OK to expand testing of drones in Britain
Outcome could allow aerial package delivery sooner than in the U.S.
“60 Minutes” in December 2013.
Bezos has since pointed to regulation as the biggest obstacle to the delivery of small packages by drones. The Seattle company has grown increasingly frustrated with the FAA’s cautious approach to its plans. Misener said in a Senate hearing in March 2015 that by the time regulators approved limited testing for certain U.S. drone models, those machines were obsolete.
Amazon has since moved more research and development of its drones to Britain, Canada and the Netherlands; the company views its partnership with Britain as its most advanced. The Civil Aviation Authority — the British equivalent of the FAA — said it may also enter into similar partnerships with other commercial drone-makers.