Online giant Amazon is considering using unmanned drone aircraft for deliveries in the US.

The company said it was working on its Prime Air project in its research and development labs. The aim is to get goods to customers in less than 30 minutes through the use of the unmanned aircraft.

But Amazon said it will take years to advance the technology and for Federal Aviation Administration rules and regulations to be created.

A statement on the company’s website said the technology will be ready to enter commercial operations “as soon as the necessary regulations are in place”, possibly as early as 2015.

“One day, Prime Air vehicles will be as normal as seeing mail trucks on the road today,” it said.

“Safety will be our top priority, and our vehicles will be built with multiple redundancies and designed to commercial aviation standards.”