It's a bird, it's a plane, it's...Amazon's long-awaited drone delivery service

After years of setbacks, Amazon is finally launching its drone delivery service later this year.

On Monday, the tech giant announced that it would be piloting this service in Lockeford, California following approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and local officials.

The MK27-2 is Amazon's newest drone, designed for optimal stability. Credit: Amazon

Drone delivery service has long been a pet project of Amazon, but it has struggled to obtain liftoff for a variety of reasons. With its sophisticated "sense-and-avoid system," Amazon says these new drones literally overcome those obstacles. The announcement reads:

Our algorithms use a diverse suite of technologies for object detection. Using this system, our drone can identify a static object in its path, like a chimney. It can also detect moving objects on the horizon, like other aircraft, even when it’s hard for people to see them. If obstacles are identified, our drone will automatically change course to safely avoid them.

As our drone descends to deliver the package into a customer’s backyard, the drone ensures that there’s a small area around the delivery location that’s clear of any people, animals, or other obstacles.

The announcement details how the Lockeford pilot program will provide valuable feedback about how to build this service on a large scale. Amazon also says it will invest in Lockeford's local community and create jobs.

Once onboarded, Lockeford residents will be able to place an order for eligible products like normal and then wait as a futuristic device descends from the sky into their backyard.