The online retailer Amazon.co.uk has announced plans to test same-day drone delivery services in Cambridge.

Increasing pressure from competitors such as DHL and Google has led the company to experiment with drone technology in the hope of improving the overnight delivery period currently offered by the online retailer.

In theory, the drones could deliver packages weighing up to five pounds within a radius of 25 miles. The potential overall delivery time of 30 minutes would represent an extreme boost in the efficiency with which the retailer serves its customers.

Not all analysts of the project, however, are convinced by the apparent economic advantages of the 50 mile-per-hour flying machines.

Nick Bubb, a retail expert, has questioned the applicability of the drone project to the broader context of national deliveries, rejecting potential positive outcomes of the Cambridge trials.

Bubb stated that “Cambridge probably isn’t a bad place to trial drones, as it’s a relatively dry part of the country and aircraft-free, but there are still bound to be accidents and collisions.”

Furthermore, the upcoming drone trials will inevitably result in the expansion of Amazon’s facilities in Cambridge. Two years after buying the local research start-up Evi Technologies, Amazon is now set to further expand its Cambridge research and development branch, drawing on the experience of local academics and graduates.

Regarding this planned use of the ‘Cambridge Fen’, a spokeswoman for Amazon Prime Air, the company’s drones wing, said: “We have multiple Prime Air development centres, including R&D labs in Seattle and Cambridge. We’re always looking to add great talent to the team; the Cambridge-based Prime Air positions we have open are a reflection of that.”