AMAZON has long talked about using drones to deliver parcels, but a patent recently uncovered shows its big-picture plan: airborne warehouses flying over cities armed with fleets of drones for delivery products on demand.

The patent describes “airborne fulfilment centres” that hover over cities at 45,000 feet and use drones to deliver goods to homes below.

4 This image from Amazon's patent filing shows a blimp hovering above a city, ready to unleash a squadron of drones to deliver packages to people's homes

4 Amazon appears to be interested in developing a totally automated airborne delivery system

Amazon earlier this month announced it had made the first successful delivery by drone, shipping a small parcel to a customer in Cambridge.

The patent, granted by the US patent office in April but only uncovered this week by tech analyst Zoe Leavitt, describes motherships floating above cities that release drones that save energy by dropping with gravity before kicking in with their motors.

The patent describes a range of uses for the flying warehouses, including flying above a football game and loaded with sporting paraphernalia and food products that spectators at the game could order and get delivered instantly by drone.

“Perishable items or even prepared meals can be delivered in a timely fashion to a user,” the patent says.

4 The blimps would carry huge numbers of drones and packages ready for delivery

4 This image depicts one of the flying drones Amazon's blimp would carry through the skies

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The abstract describes the system as having three components: the giant warehouses floating over the city; the fleet of delivery drones and smaller airships that are used to stock the warehouses and fly at a lower altitude to recover the drones.

The existence of the patent does not mean the scheme will become a reality any time soon but does indicate how Amazon is thinking of revolutionising the delivery process.

Another Amazon patent revealed this week describes a system for protecting delivery drones from hackers, lightning, and bows and arrows.