Amazon patents design for giant flying fleet of connected aircraft to deliver big packages

Amazon is developing technology that will allow a flock of drones to fly in convoy, allowing the machines to cover longer distances and carry heavier loads. The company has been granted the patent for a a large and robust flying drone, which is made up of several smaller drones. The Amazon Technologies Inc. patent says that individual modules could detach from the collective drone body once they were no longer required, allowing them to operate independently to deliver smaller parcels. The patent description explains that a collective aerial drone would be capable of transporting'virtually any size, weight, or quantity of items.' The average drone can typically fly continuously for up to 30 minutes and can only transport items weighing up to 10 pounds. Last month the company revealed that it had made its first aircraft delivery and claimed to have dropped off the package just 13 minutes after it was ordered.