KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Amazon Prime Air will showcase its MK30 drones on Wednesday as part of the company’s plans to offer drone delivery service to parts of the Kansas City area by the end of 2025.
The company announced plans in April to develop an Amazon Drone Delivery site at its warehouse near Interstate 49 and Missouri Highway 150 in south Kansas City, Missouri.
About a month later, details emerged about a second drone delivery site that would be located at Amazon’s existing warehouse at 6925 Riverview Ave., in Kansas City, Kansas.
On Wednesday, Amazon officials will give the public its first opportunity to see the drones that will serve as the backbone for the delivery service. The event runs from 4-6 p.m. in Room AA101 at the Thomas R. Burke Technical Education Center at 6565 State Ave., in KCK.
Amazon Prime Air launched drone delivery service in late 2022 in College Station, Texas. Since then, it has expanded to parts of Phoenix, with plans to offer service in Dallas, San Antonio and Kansas City.
The drones would take off and return to Drone Delivery Centers at the two Kansas City-area locations. They would have an approximate range of 7.5 miles each way to make a delivery.
Once at the intended address for delivery, the drone would descend to about 12 feet and scan for any obstacles, people, or pets before dropping the package off and returning to base.
Earlier this month, the Federal Aviation Administration proposed a new rule that would make it easier for companies to fly drones outside of an operator's line of sight. Prior to the FAA's proposed new rule, companies had to obtain a waiver to perform such flights.
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