Amazon says the FAA approval for limited outdoor testing of its unmanned aerial systems delivery service is not much use to the company because it applies to an aircraft the company is no longer testing. In testimony (quoted in Geekwire) before a Senate committee on Tuesday, Amazon VP for Global Public Policy Paul Misener said that thanks to more liberal UAS regulations in the U.K. and other countries, Amazon has been able to move on from its original proposal to the FAA and is now testing a more advanced system for its Prime Air program. “The permission the FAA granted is more restrictive than are the rules and approvals by which we conduct outdoor testing in the UK and elsewhere,” he said in testimony to the Subcommittee on Aviation Operations, Safety and Security for the Committee on Commerce Science and Transportation. “The good news is that, while the FAA was considering our applications for testing, we innovated so rapidly that the UAS approved last week by the FAA has become obsolete.”
He said Amazon began testing in more accommodating jurisdictions soon after it submitted its application for an exemption from FAA rules that currently prohibit commercial UAS operations. It also tests in an indoor facility somewhere in the Seattle area. Misener urged the senators to get caught up with the rules in some other countries. He also said Prime Air will be a net safety improvement for society. “Once operational, Prime Air will increase the overall safety and efficiency of the current ground transportation system, by allowing people to skip the quick trip to the store or by decreasing package delivery by truck or car.” Misener said Amazon has asked the FAA for a blanket exemption to allow it to test new UASs as they are developed. The current generation have sense-and-avoid capabilities and are designed to operate largely autonomously as much as 10 miles beyond the line of sight of the control station. They will normally fly at least 200 feet AGL.
