Odys Aviation and the Sultanate of Oman Sign Landmark Agreement to Launch one of the World’s Most Comprehensive AAM Ecosystem Programs

MUSCAT, Oman--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep 15, 2025--

Odys Aviation, a dual-use aviation company building hybrid-electric vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft, has announced the signing of a landmark agreement with the Oman Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology (MTCIT) to establish the Oman Proof of Concept Program (the Program), a fully integrated Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) ecosystem demonstration. The Program will showcase Odys’ full-scale Laila aircraft, designed for VTOL operations with hybrid-electric propulsion, extended range, high payload capacity and advanced autonomous capabilities. The operational launch is scheduled for Q1 2026.

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The Program will bring together Odys Aviation, Oman’s regulators, globally recognized tier-one AAM companies and a select group of strategic partners and end users to validate the deployment of long-range, hybrid-electric VTOL aircraft in live operational environments. By leveraging Oman’s progressive regulatory framework and commitment to innovation under the JARUS/SORA framework, the program will serve as one of the world’s most comprehensive blueprints for the rollout of AAM infrastructure, policy and operations.

In collaboration with the CAA, the program will provide the opportunity to trial Specific Category operating regulations, including the ICAO-derived Specific Operational Risk Assessment prototype regulation, at multiple Specific Assurance and Integrity Levels, to enable the continued safe advancement of Civil Aviation Regulations.

Commenting on this announcement, His Excellency Eng. Naif bin Ali Al-Abri, President of the Oman Civil Aviation Authority, said: “This partnership represents a pivotal strategic step in the trajectory of Oman’s civil aviation sector. It comes within the framework of the national agenda to promote innovation and embrace the latest advanced aviation technologies, in alignment with the goals of Oman Vision 2040. It also underscores the Authority’s unwavering commitment to upholding the highest standards of safety and quality, while fostering a flexible and enabling regulatory environment that keeps pace with global developments in this field. Through this pioneering program, the Sultanate is not only preparing its infrastructure and economy for the future of air mobility, but is also contributing to setting international standards and shaping the future of advanced aviation at both regional and global levels.”

He noted that the Program is fully aligned with Oman Vision 2040 and positions the Sultanate as a regional and global leader in advanced aviation. It also marks a pivotal step in Odys’ international expansion, with Oman serving as the proving ground for a repeatable global playbook in other early-adopter markets.

“This program shows clear intent from a multitude of partners with Odys taking a leading role in aligning government, industry, and technology leaders to test the entire AAM ecosystem, not just undertaking a flight test. Aircraft OEM, operators, oil and gas entities, vertiports, autonomy, regulatory oversight and more, will all be coming together in a real-world setting,” said Vincent Frascogna, VP of Business Development for Odys Aviation. “By engaging regulators, operators, technology providers and end users in one integrated program, the Oman Program will establish a new benchmark for how advanced air mobility will move from concept to commercial deployment. Oman is not only enabling rapid innovation, it is setting the standard for how advanced aviation will scale globally.”

Unlike prior and planned technology trials in many other markets, the Oman Program will validate end-to-end AAM operations with cross-sector customers across multiple high-value use cases including oil and gas pipeline inspections, civil defense applications including emergency response and search and rescue, emergency medical logistics, national defense and infrastructure and logistics including long-range inspection, cargo movements and just-in-time supply chain support.

The Program will provide partners with measurable milestones, including successful VTOL takeoffs and landings, completed flights of varying ranges, commercially viable payload delivery to remote and offshore locations, integration with existing helicopter operations and development of vertiport and supporting infrastructure such as charging. Upon completion of the initial Program, Odys expects to announce further Program expansions including additional partners, longer range and increased payload missions.

About Odys Aviation:

Odys Aviation designs, develops and manufactures long-range, technologically advanced dual-use VTOL aircraft that solve global challenges across defense, logistics, and passenger travel. The company is pioneering the next generation of VTOL aircraft which use hybrid-electric propulsion systems to deliver the optimal balance between range and payload.

Based in Long Beach, CA, Odys Aviation was founded in 2019 and is led by seasoned engineers and strategists from SpaceX, Gulfstream, Airbus, Tesla and the U.S. Department of Defense. The company has secured $231M in firm orders and $11B+ in signed LOIs to date. Visit www.odysaviation.com for more information.

James Dorris, CEO, Odys Aviation, H.E. Eng. Naif bin Ali Al Abri, President of the Oman Civil Aviation Authority, H.E. Eng. Khamis bin Mohammed Al-Shamakhi, Undersecretary of Transport, MTCIT

One U.S. service member was rescued and at least one was missing after two U.S. military planes went down in separate incidents including the first shoot-down since the war began nearly five weeks ago.

It was the first time U.S. aircraft have been downed in the conflict and came just two days after President Donald Trump said in a national address that the U.S. has “beaten and completely decimated Iran.”

One fighter jet was shot down in Iran, officials said. A U.S. crew member from that plane was rescued, but a second was missing, and a U.S. military search-and-rescue operation was underway.

Separately, Iranian state media said a U.S. A-10 attack aircraft crashed in the Persian Gulf after being struck by Iranian defense forces. A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive military situation, said it was not clear if the aircraft crashed or was shot down.

The war now entering its sixth week is destabilizing economies around the world as Iran responds to the U.S. and Israeli attacks by targeting the Gulf region's energy infrastructure and tightening its grip on oil and natural gas shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.

Here is the latest:

U.S. and Israeli warplanes continued to pound Iran Saturday, hitting several targets including a petrochemical facility, Iranian media reported.

Iran's official English-language newspaper Tehran Times reported that an airstrike hit a facility belonging to Iran’s Agriculture Ministry in the western city of Mehran.

The newspaper said another air raid struck Mahshahr Special Petrochemical Zone in the southwestern Khuzestan province.

The semiofficial Fars news agency reported several explosions heard late Saturday morning in the facility.

Mehr, another semiofficial news agency, reported that the strikes hit four companies within the zone.

Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf made the veiled threat in a social media post late Friday, asking about how busy oil tanker and container ship traffic is through the strait.

The 20-mile (32-kilometer) strait links the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean and is one of the busiest chokepoints in global trade, with more than a tenth of seaborne global oil and a quarter of container ships passing through it.

Iran has already greatly disrupted the flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz, sending fuel prices skyrocketing and jolting the world economy.

Disrupting transit through the Bab el-Madeb would force shipping firms to route their vessels around the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa, further hitting prices.

Israel’s rescue services said Saturday the man sustained glass shrapnel wounds after an Iranian missile hit the central city of Bnei Brak.

It wasn't clear if the glass shrapnel was caused by a direct strike or falling debris from an intercepted missile.

Israel’s Magen David Adom rescue services said it was taking the man to the hospital.

The Iranian judiciary's Mizan news agency said Saturday that the two men who were hanged belonged to the Iranian exile group Mujahedeen-e-Khalq.

The agency said Abul-Hassan Montazer and Vahid Bani-Amirian were convicted of “being members of a terrorist group.”

This brings to six the total number of MEK members executed since the start of the war.

Activists and rights groups say Iran routinely holds closed-door trials in which defendants are unable to challenge the accusations they face.

The Israeli military said on Saturday that its air force struck ballistic and and anti-aircraft missile storage sites in Tehran.

It said the strikes a day earlier included weapons manufacture sites as well as military research and development facilities in the Iranian capital.

It said the strikes are part of an ongoing phase to increase damage to Iran's “core systems and foundations.”

Authorities in Dubai said the facades of two buildings were damaged by debris from intercepted drones, including one belonging to U.S. tech firm Oracle. No injuries were reported.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard has threatened to attack Oracle and 17 other U.S. companies after accusing them of being involved in “terrorist espionage” operations in Iran.

Previous Iranian drone strikes caused damage to three Amazon Web Services facilities in the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.

As of Friday, 247 of the wounded were Army soldiers, 63 were Navy sailors, 19 were Marines and 36 were Air Force airmen, according to Pentagon data available online.

It is unclear if the data includes any of the service members involved in the downing of two combat aircraft reported Friday.

Most of the wounded — 200 — were also mid to senior enlisted troops, 85 were officers and 80 were junior enlisted service members.

The current death toll remains at 13 service members killed in combat.

Palestinian Muslims attend Friday prayers outside Jerusalem's Old City due to restrictions linked to the Iran war, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

Tamara and her sister Amal color pictures on the floor as their parents, Sara and Ahmed, who fled their village of Khiyam in southern Lebanon due to Israeli bombardment, sit inside a tent used as a shelter in Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Mohammad Qubaisi, 53, with burn wounds from an Israeli airstrike on southern Lebanon undergoes surgery by Dr. Mohammed Ziara, left, and his team, at the Sidon Government Hospital in Sidon, Lebanon, Thursday, April 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

A bridge struck by U.S. airstrikes on Thursday is seen in the town of Karaj, west of Tehran, Iran, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

FILE - An F-15E Strike Eagle turns toward the Panamint range over Death Valley National Park, Calif., on Feb. 27, 2017. (AP Photo/Ben Margot, File)