Amazon has  blasted federal regulators  for being slow to . approve commercial drone testing - and warned the United States is . falling behind other countries in the potentially lucrative area . of unmanned aviation technology. Less than a week after the Federal Aviation Administration . gave Amazon.com the green light to test a delivery drone . outdoors, the company told U.S. lawmakers that the prototype . drone had already become obsolete while the company waited more . than six months for the agency's permission. 'We don't test it anymore. We've moved on to more advanced . designs that we already are testing abroad,' said Paul Misener, . Amazon.com's vice president for global public policy. Scroll down for video . The company must supply monthly data to the regulators, and conduct flights at 400 feet (120 metres) orbelow and in 'visual meteorological conditions,' Amazon is developing aerial vehicles as part of Amazon Prime Air. The aircraft can travel at more than 50mph and carry loads of up to 5 pounds. About 86 percent of Amazon's deliveries are 5 pounds or less, the company said. 'We believe customers will love it, and we are committed to making Prime Air available to customers worldwide as soon as we are permitted to do so,' Amazon has said. 'Nowhere outside of the United States have we been required . to wait more than one or two months to begin testing,' Misener . said in written testimony submitted to the Senate Subcommittee . on Aviation Operations, Safety and Security. Misener said Amazon had applied on Friday for permission to . test a more advanced drone system and now hopes for quicker . approval. The Amazon.com case illustrates the frustrations of many . companies and industry lobbyists, who say the U.S. regulatory . process is not keeping up with rapidly developing drone . technology that could generate new revenues and cost savings for . a range of industries. Misener, who was scheduled to join a witness panel at the . subcommittee hearing, said European and other international . authorities have more 'reasonable' approaches that recognize the . potential economic benefits of commercial drone operations. 'This low level of government attention and slow pace are . inadequate, especially compared to the regulatory efforts in . other countries,' Misener said. 'The (FAA) already has adequate statutory authority. What . the FAA needs is impetus, lest the United States fall further . behind,' he added. Seattle-based Amazon.com, the largest e-commerce company in . the United States, wants to use drones to deliver packages to . its customers over distances of 10 miles (16 km)or more, which . would require drones to travel autonomously while equipped with . technology to avoid collisions with other aircraft. The FAA recently proposed rules that would lift the current . ban on most commercial drone flights, but several restrictions . attached would make package delivery and other business . applications unfeasible. Among other constraints, the proposed rules would limit . commercial drones to an altitude of 500 feet (150 metres), allow . flights only during daytime and require operators to keep the . aircraft in sight at all times. The agency does not expect to finalize the rules until late . 2016 or early 2017, according to government officials. During . this period, the current ban will stay in place; companies can . apply for exemptions to use drones for specific business . applications. The FAA has been slow to grant exemptions, however, granting . only 48 of several hundred requests. The Republican-led subcommittee called the hearing to . examine the agency's efforts to integrate unmanned aircraft . systems, or UAS, safely into U.S. airspace. Industry forecasters . say that drones would generate nearly $14 billion of U.S. economic activity in the first three years of integration and . $82 billion over a decade. Meanwhile, Australia, Canada, France and the United Kingdom . have progressed toward airspace integration and allow for . commercial use, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said . in a report to the subcommittee. Australia has granted operating certificates to 185 . businesses, while several European countries have granted . licenses to more than 1,000 operators, according to the report. While the GAO said overseas restrictions are similar to . those proposed by the FAA, it noted that France has begun to . allow beyond-line-of-sight operations on a limited basis. (Additional reporting by Allison Lampert in Montreal Editing by . Soyoung Kim and Jonathan Oatis)
FAA gave Amazon  green light to test a delivery drone outdoors last week . Firm says approved drone is already obsolete . New models are already being tested abroad by the firm .