6 Use Cases, 5 Days: Oman's Drone Trials Enter Shortlisting

Oman's plan to test drones and air taxis in real conditions has reached its selection stage. The call for Expressions of Interest (EOIs) for the Oman AAM Strategic Demonstrator Programme closed on 25 October, and the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology (MTCIT) and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) are now evaluating and shortlisting applicants, Oman Observer reported on 27 October. Shortlisted companies will hear back by 15 November, and live trials are scheduled for 6 to 10 December 2026.

🔑 Key Takeaways

• The EOI deadline for the Oman AAM Strategic Demonstrator Programme was 25 October, and the programme has now moved into evaluation and shortlisting, according to Oman Observer.
• Six application areas have been selected for demonstration: air taxis, agriculture, cargo and delivery logistics, security and surveillance, healthcare and emergency medical services, and aerial imaging and inspection.
• Shortlisted applicants will be notified by 15 November. Live demonstrations run 6 to 10 December, with the main showcase on 8 to 9 December.
• Selected participants will fly their own aircraft, drones, sensors and payloads inside the National AAM Sandbox, a controlled regulatory environment run by MTCIT with the CAA.
• Neither authority has published how many applications came in, a budget, or the trial locations. Scenario and location details go only to shortlisted applicants, according to China eVTOL News.

📋 What Changed This Week

MTCIT and the CAA launched the programme on 29 September, when they invited operators, manufacturers, technology providers, research institutions and consortia to submit EOIs, as Unmanned Airspace reported. Times of Oman described it as the "Strategic Programme for Advanced Air Mobility Demonstrations and Live Trials", a controlled testing environment for aviation, logistics, and urban, agricultural and healthcare services, open to local and international companies.

The call has now closed. According to the 27 October Oman Observer report, the programme has fixed six application areas for demonstration. Proposals are being assessed on strategic relevance, technological maturity, operational feasibility, safety, innovation and fit with national AAM objectives.

The criteria match those set out when the call opened. China eVTOL News reported that applicants were asked for a company profile, project description, technical documentation and evidence of operating experience. It also noted MTCIT's warning that submitting an EOI "does not guarantee selection".

🗓️ The Road to December

Dates are drawn from Unmanned Airspace and Oman Observer.

🛩️ The Six Use Cases Being Tested

• Air taxi services: passenger eVTOL flights, the most ambitious and the furthest from commercial reality.
• Agricultural operations: crop spraying, monitoring and farm surveying.
• Cargo and delivery logistics: parcel and supply drops by drone.
• Security and surveillance: aerial monitoring for safety and security agencies.
• Healthcare and emergency medical services: moving medical supplies and supporting emergency response.
• Aerial imaging and inspection: surveying infrastructure, pipelines and assets.

The sandbox is meant to feed regulation directly. An official from the consortium working on the national strategy told Oman Observer on 8 October that "the idea is to get inputs to enhance regulations". The same report said workshops with operators and authorities will follow the trials, and that the results should also inform a certification process.

🧭 How Oman Got Here

The December trials build on more than a year of groundwork:

• July 2025: The CAA presented the Sandbox AAM Oman 2025 Programme at the Paris Air Show. It set out a national experimental airspace for air taxi, cargo drone, medical evacuation and surveillance trials, as Oman Observer reported.
• March 2026: MTCIT awarded a consultancy contract for a national AAM Master Plan. Seven companies had bid, according to Oman Observer.
• June to July 2026: A consortium led by GUAMobility was mandated to draft the National AAM Strategy. Its members include the Omani geospatial firm GIS Hub, DTA International and Innovitech, and a national steering committee chaired by Transport Minister Said bin Hamoud Al Maawali oversees the work, per Unmanned Airspace.
• September 2026: The consortium held seven consultation workshops in Muscat, which we covered in our look at Oman's drone and eVTOL rulebook workshops.

The CAA has been careful about air taxi timelines. In March, its Director-General of Strategic Planning explained why the trials come first:

🏗️ What It Means on the Ground

The 8 October Oman Observer report gave an early picture of how services could roll out:

• Drone deliveries are expected first. Air taxis depend on designated corridors and vertiports, which do not exist yet.
• AAM ports are planned in every governorate, including Muscat, Suhar and Salalah.
• Muscat Airport is planned mainly for air taxi services, including a link to Sultan Haitham City.

For Omani drone operators, the trials are a chance to fly under regulator supervision and help shape the rules they will later have to follow. Logistics companies, hospitals, farms and asset owners will get to see which use cases actually work in Oman's heat, dust and terrain. For international manufacturers, the December week is an early way into a market that is still writing its rules.

⚠️ What We Still Don't Know

• How many applied: No EOI count or applicant mix (Omani versus international) has been published.
• Where the trials will take place: Scenario and location details are being shared only with shortlisted applicants, per China eVTOL News.
• Funding and what comes next: There is no published budget, and no stated route from a successful demonstration to a commercial licence.

The 15 November shortlist will be the first real sign of who is serious about operating in Omani airspace.

🇴🇲 Why this matters for Oman

Oman Vision 2040 links economic diversification to logistics, advanced technology and new industries, and advanced air mobility touches all three. Running a structured sandbox before setting rules means Oman's drone and air taxi regulations will rest on live trial data rather than copied frameworks. It also gives Omani firms such as GIS Hub and local drone operators a role in building the system. Whether that turns into licensed delivery corridors, working vertiports and local jobs depends on what happens after December. The shortlisting now under way is the first test of how many credible operators the programme can attract.