Airobotics Optimus ↔ American Robotics BVLOS
How it works
Two complementary FAA approvals stack together. American Robotics holds the first-ever FAA BVLOS waiver permitting fully automated Beyond-Visual-Line-of-Sight operations without on-site pilots or visual observers (originally granted January 2021 for the Scout System, extended to the Optimus System after the Airobotics → Ondas → American Robotics consolidation). The Optimus aircraft itself holds its own FAA Type Certification. Together they enable a single dock-to-dock commercial flight with no human at the take-off site. A January 2025 follow-on waiver extends operations over people and moving vehicles from a remote operations center.
This stack is the regulatory foundation of the entire Ondas Autonomous Systems commercial pitch in the US. Without the BVLOS waiver, Optimus is restricted to non-US deployments or limited per-flight waivers; with it, Ondas can operate routine commercial automated drone flights from a Baltimore-based ROC. Direct competitor stacks (Skydio, Brinc, etc.) lack the equivalent FAA approval depth.