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

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado comes to the White House on Thursday to discuss her country's future with President Donald Trump even after he publicly dismissed her credibility to take over after an audacious U.S. military raid captured then-President Nicolás Maduro.

Trump has raised doubts about his stated commitment to backing democratic rule in Venezuela. His administration has signaled its willingness to work with acting President Delcy Rodríguez, who was Maduro’s vice president and, along with others in the deposed leader’s inner circle, remains in charge of day-to-day governmental operations.

In endorsing Rodríguez so far, Trump has sidelined Machado, who has long been a face of resistance in Venezuela and sought to cultivate relationships with Trump and key administration voices like Secretary of State Marco Rubio among the American right wing in a gamble to ally herself with the U.S. government.

The White House says Machado sought the face-to-face meeting with Trump without setting expectations for what would occur. Her party is widely believed to have won 2024 elections rejected by Maduro. Machado previously offered to share with Trump the Nobel Peace Prize she won last year, an honor he has coveted.

Machado plans to have a meeting at the Senate following her lunch with Trump, who has called her “a nice woman” while indicating they might not touch on major issues in their talks Thursday.

Her Washington swing began after U.S. forces in the Caribbean Sea seized another sanctioned oil tanker that the Trump administration says had ties to Venezuela. It is part of a broader U.S. effort to take control of the South American country’s oil after U.S. forces seized Maduro and his wife at a heavily guarded compound in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas and brought them to New York to stand trial on drug trafficking charges.

The White House says Venezuela has been fully cooperating with the Trump administration since Maduro’s ouster.

Rodríguez, the acting president, herself has adopted a less strident position toward Trump and his “America First” policies toward the Western Hemisphere, saying she plans to continue releasing prisoners detained under Maduro — a move thought to have been made at the behest of the Trump administration. Venezuela released several Americans this week.

Trump, a Republican, said Wednesday that he had a “great conversation” with Rodríguez, their first since Maduro was ousted.

“We had a call, a long call. We discussed a lot of things,” Trump said during an Oval Office bill signing. “And I think we’re getting along very well with Venezuela.”

Even before indicating the willingness to work with Venezuela's interim government, Trump was quick to snub Machado. Just hours after Maduro's capture, Trump said of Machado that “it would be very tough for her to be the leader. She doesn’t have the support within or the respect within the country.”

Machado has steered a careful course to avoid offending Trump, notably after winning last year’s Nobel Peace Prize, which Trump wanted to win himself. She has since thanked Trump. Her offer to share the peace prize with him was rejected by the Nobel Institute.

Machado’s whereabouts have been largely unknown since she went into hiding early last year after being briefly detained in Caracas. She briefly reappeared in Oslo, Norway, in December after her daughter received the Nobel Peace Prize on her behalf.

The industrial engineer and daughter of a steel magnate began challenging the ruling party in 2004, when the nongovernmental organization she co-founded, Súmate, promoted a referendum to recall then-President Hugo Chávez. The initiative failed, and Machado and other Súmate executives were charged with conspiracy.

A year later, she drew the anger of Chávez and his allies again for traveling to Washington to meet President George W. Bush. A photo showing her shaking hands with Bush in the Oval Office lives in the collective memory. Chávez considered Bush an adversary.

Almost two decades later, she marshaled millions of Venezuelans to reject Chávez’s successor, Maduro, for another term in the 2024 election. But ruling party-loyal electoral authorities declared him the winner despite ample credible evidence to the contrary. Ensuing anti-government protests ended in a brutal crackdown by state security forces.

Garcia Cano reported from Caracas, Venezuela, and Janetsky from Mexico City. AP Diplomatic Writer Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.

FILE - U.S. President George Bush, right, meets with Maria Corina Machado, executive director of Sumate, a non-governmental organization that defends Venezuelan citizens' political rights, in the Oval Office of the White House, Washington, May 31, 2005. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)

FILE - Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado gestures to supporters during a protest against President Nicolas Maduro the day before his inauguration for a third term, in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, file)