Amazon unveils smaller delivery drone that can fly in rain

The new drone, dubbed MK30, will go into service in 2024 and replace the existing MK27-2, the model that will be used to make deliveries in Lockeford, California, and College Station, Texas, this year. — AP Images for Amazon

Amazon.com Inc unveiled a new delivery drone design on Nov 10 that’s smaller, makes less noise and can fly through light rain, the latest effort to get the troubled and long-developing project off the ground.

The company has spent nearly a decade pursuing founder Jeff Bezos’ vision of autonomous drones that can deliver a package weighing less than 5 pounds as little as 30 minutes after a customer places an order. Beyond speeding delivery times, drones could significantly cut the cost of delivery which still mostly requires a person driving a vehicle to someone’s home.