Amazon Says Drones Will Soon Be ‘Delivery Truck’ Common

Though Amazon has taken great care to keep consumers informed on the status of its drone delivery program, there’s no doubt that the whole thing still strikes some consumers as too far-fetched to ever one day drop packages off on their front steps. However, one Amazon executive is certain that while drones might be a novelty now, they’ll soon be as commonplace as delivery vans today.

That’s the view of Paul Misener, vice president of global public policy at Amazon. In an interview with Yahoo, Misener pulled the curtain back on a range of details and specifications for Amazon’s secretive drones, such as how fast and how far they’ll be able to travel with heavy parcels in tow.

“The goals we’ve set for ourselves are: The range has to be over 10 miles,” Misener told Yahoo. “These [drones] will weigh about 55 pounds each, but they’ll be able to deliver parcels that weigh up to five pounds. It turns out that the vast majority of the things we sell at Amazon weigh less than five pounds.”

Misener also addressed an issue that’s commonly brought up when Amazon’s drones make appearances in polite conversation: What if someone decides to pull out a Red Ryder BB gun and start taking pot shots at an in-flight drone carrying an expensive purchase? To Misener, the threat isn’t so pressing and is much more likely related to consumers’ lack of familiarity with the devices.

“I suppose they could shoot at [delivery] trucks, too,” Misener told Yahoo. “We want to make the deliveries. And we believe that these Prime Air drones will be as normal as seeing a delivery truck driving down the street someday. So, the novelty will wear off.”

The novelty of wanting to shoot drones down? Sure, that might wear off. But the novelty of having packages delivered in minutes by air? That novelty might linger for a little longer.