JD.com plans to develop heavy-weight delivery drones

Chinese online retailer, JD.com Inc, has made an announcement that it plans to develop drone aircraft capable of carrying a ton or more for long-distance deliveries.

The company stated that it will test the drones on a network it is developing that will cover a northern Chinese province and carry consumer goods to remote areas and farm produce to cities.

According to the company, it made its first deliveries to customers using smaller drones in November.

Other e-commerce brands including Amazon also are experimenting with drones for delivery.