Amazon is aiming sky-high once again, this time with a bold expansion of its Prime Air drone delivery program and a strategic investment in electric aviation, signaling a new era for last-mile logistics in the United States. On February 10, 2026, the tech and retail giant announced it would add two new Prime Air drone delivery distribution centers in the south suburbs of Chicago, bringing its total number of Prime Air sites nationwide to ten. The move positions the Chicago area as a crucial testing ground for how automated delivery could reshape e-commerce, especially in densely populated urban markets.
"What we have found across the markets where we've expanded (Prime Air) is there is significant demand for this," said Sam Bailey, Amazon’s Senior Manager of Economic Development Policy, who is helping to lead the company's Prime Air expansion nationwide. "Customers enjoy the experience." And what an experience it is: picture an 83-pound automated flying delivery vehicle—Amazon’s own drone—taking off from a fulfillment center parking lot and landing precisely at a customer’s chosen drop-off point. The drone can carry packages weighing up to five pounds, which, as Josh Brundage, Amazon’s Senior Manager of Commercial Operations, described, is about the size of a "pretty large shoebox." According to Amazon, that covers more than 60% of the roughly 25 million items stored in each of the two new facilities.
The Chicago area suburbs stand to benefit directly from this technological leap. Towns within the Markham fulfillment center’s drone delivery radius include Tinley Park, Midlothian, Homewood, Flossmoor, Dolton, and Blue Island. Meanwhile, Chicago Heights and Country Club Hills fall within the reach of the Matteson facility. It’s a significant swath of the south suburbs, and Amazon is eager to engage with local residents: the company is hosting a virtual community meeting about the Prime Air rollout on February 11, 2026, and will follow up with an in-person information session on March 2, 2026, at the Tinley Park Convention Center.
For Prime customers in some markets, drone delivery comes at a cost of $4.99 per order, though the local price for Chicago’s south suburbs has yet to be finalized. Bailey declined to specify exactly how many customers would fall within the drone delivery boundaries. But one thing is clear: the service is designed for speed and convenience, targeting the "last mile" challenge that has long bedeviled delivery companies operating in crowded urban and suburban areas.
The expansion isn’t just about faster packages—it’s also about jobs. Amazon plans to add about 100 new positions at the Markham and Matteson facilities as part of the Prime Air rollout, supplementing the roughly 6,000 people already employed at the two sites. Importantly, the company emphasized that these jobs are "net new" and won’t result in any reduction of the existing local workforce. It’s a rare bit of good news for communities often anxious about automation and its impact on employment.
But Amazon’s ambitions don’t stop at drones. On the same day as its Chicago drone announcement, the company made waves in the world of electric aviation by acquiring a 5.3% ownership stake in BETA Technologies, an innovative electric aviation firm. According to a regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Amazon now beneficially owns 11,753,896 shares of BETA Technologies’ Class A common stock, with sole voting and investment power through NV Holdings. The news, first reported by NBC News, sent BETA Technologies shares soaring 17% in after-hours trading on February 10, 2026.
This investment is more than just a financial play—it’s a strategic bet on the future of logistics. As Amazon continues to push the envelope on automated delivery, electric aviation technologies like those developed by BETA could become central to its operations. Drones are already changing how packages move across short distances, but electric aircraft could one day help Amazon conquer longer hauls and reach customers in even more remote or congested areas.
It’s not hard to see why Amazon is doubling down on both fronts. The company’s Prime Air program is already in operation or announced in eight other locations across the United States, and the addition of the Chicago-area sites brings the total to ten. Each new fulfillment center is a laboratory for innovation, testing not only the technical limits of drone flight but also the regulatory, logistical, and social hurdles that come with deploying new technology at scale.
For residents of the south suburbs, the arrival of Prime Air is likely to spark both excitement and questions. How will the drones navigate the complexities of urban airspace? What about privacy, noise, and safety concerns? Amazon is clearly aware of these issues, which is why it’s holding multiple community meetings to address them head-on. The company’s approach appears to be one of transparency and engagement—a necessary strategy when introducing cutting-edge technology into people’s daily lives.
From a business perspective, the implications are enormous. More than 60% of the items stored at each of the two new facilities can be delivered by drone, representing a major shift in how inventory is managed and distributed. If successful, the model could be replicated in other metropolitan regions, further blurring the line between science fiction and everyday commerce.
Yet, the move also raises broader questions about the future of work and automation. While Amazon is touting the creation of 100 new jobs tied to Prime Air, some labor advocates remain wary of the long-term impact of automation on warehouse and delivery jobs. For now, however, Amazon insists that the new positions will not come at the expense of existing workers, offering a measure of reassurance in an industry often buffeted by technological change.
Amazon’s investment in BETA Technologies adds another layer to the story. Electric aviation is still in its infancy, but with major players like Amazon getting involved, the pace of development is likely to accelerate. The partnership could give Amazon a first-mover advantage in integrating electric aircraft into its supply chain, potentially reducing both delivery times and environmental impact.
As the company continues to expand its reach—both literally and figuratively—the eyes of the logistics, technology, and retail worlds will be fixed on Chicago’s south suburbs. Will Amazon’s drone delivery experiment fly high, or will it encounter turbulence along the way? For now, the only certainty is that the future of delivery is arriving faster than anyone could have imagined, and it’s landing in a neighborhood near you.
With drones buzzing overhead and electric aircraft on the horizon, Amazon is rewriting the rules of the delivery game—one package, and one bold investment, at a time.