Alphabet gets clearance to begin testing delivery drones in US - CNET

Alphabet is a step closer to getting its proposed drone delivery service off the ground.

The Google parent company will be allowed to test its unmanned aerial vehicles in designated areas in the US, the White House said Tuesday. The test flights were announced as part of a new initiative unveiled by the US National Science Foundation, which plans to spend $35 million over the next five years on unmanned flight research.

"Data gathered will be shared with govement partners to help regulators answer critical safety and human factors questions for UAV cargo delivery operations," the White House said in a statement.

The announcement comes less than two months after the Federal Aviation Administration finalized regulations for commercial use of drones, making it easier for pilots to use drones for everything from structural or crop inspection to search-and-rescue operations to film production. However, those new rules did not include approval for commercial delivery services.