Amazon has petitioned the FAA to allow it to test its own drones

Amazon has filed a petition with the FAA asking the agency to allow expanded testing of the company’s Prime Air drones. According to the petition, which was first reported on by CNET, Amazon has been working on improving its drones by flying them indoors in Seattle, and taking them out to other countries with more relaxed rules about where and when businesses can fly drones. However, the company can’t fly them outdoors in the U.S. because of FAA regulations that prohibit commercial use of drones. In the petition, the company asked for permission to test the drones on its own property, away from densely-populated areas, airports and military installations.

Amazon is asking the federal government if it can start testing drones in its own backyard to speed up its development of Prime Air shipping, according to a letter published to the Federal Aviation Administration’s site on Thursday. If granted, Amazon will be able to test its drones outside of the testing sites designated by the FAA. The Seattle-based company said it could innovate more quickly, allowing it to test out new designs without traveling to one of the six FAA-approved sites scattered throughout the country. “We want to do more R&D (research and development) close to home,” VP of Global Public Policy Paul Misener said in a statement to CNET. The Internet retail giant has been testing the technology in order to deliver small packages, weighing 5 pounds or less, by drones. In arguing the feasibility of what initially sounds like a bizarre stunt, Amazon said 86 percent of the products sold on its site weighs less than 5 pounds. CEO Jeff Bezos announced the Prime Air service in December, but it can’t take off until the FAA figures out how it will regulate unmanned aircrafts when they are used for commercial purposes. Currently, the FAA already regulates drone hobbyists.