Amazon testing drones for same-day package delivery

May start using the drones within five years, pending Federal Aviation Administration nod

Amazon.com Inc is testing drones to deliver goods, as the world's largest e-commerce company works to improve efficiency and speed in getting products to consumers.

Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos unveiled the plan on CBS's 60 Minutes news programme in the US on Sunday, showing interviewer Charlie Rose the flying machines that could serve as delivery vehicles. The CEO said the gadgets, called octocopters, could carry as much as five pounds within a 10-mile radius of an Amazon fulfilment centre. Amazon might start using the drones, which could make a delivery in 30 minutes, within five years, pending Federal Aviation Administration approval, Bezos said.

"It will work, and it will happen, and it's gonna be a lot of fun," he said.

The Seattle-based company has been ramping up ways to get products to consumers more quickly, as it tries to keep shoppers coming back to buy from its web store instead of going to brick- and-mortar retailers. The company said last month it was teaming up with the US Postal Service to begin Sunday delivery to members of its $79-a-year Prime programme.

Delivery drones were also being used by Australian company Zookal to deliver textbooks, said Oliver Lamb, director of Sydney-based Pacific Aviation Consulting. In China, the SF Express delivery company is experimenting with drones in the southern city of Dongguan, according to a report by the Civil Aviation Resource Net of China.