Irish drone delivery company Manna has selected Tulsa, Oklahoma as its US headquarters, committing to 1,000 jobs in the city and planning to launch drone delivery operations by September 2026, as reported by Public Radio Tulsa.

The announcement was made by founder and CEO Bobby Healy at a public event attended by Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt, Lieutenant Governor Matt Pinnell, Tulsa Mayor Monroe Nichols, and other city officials. Healy conducted a live drone delivery demonstration at the event, dropping bags from a Manna aircraft as part of the launch.

The company plans to bring both drone manufacturing and drone delivery hub infrastructure to Tulsa, enabling deliveries of food, pharmaceutical products, and other small items within approximately three minutes of an order being placed.

Healy said he believed Oklahoma was the best place in the world to build the business, citing the state's openness to technology, its government support, and its focus on job creation.

The Tulsa expansion follows Manna's decision in June to pause operations in Ireland, where the company had been delivering in Cork and Dublin. Healy said he would not resume Irish operations until the government legislates and creates zoning rules around drone delivery. The pause came after years of public debate and resident complaints about the frequency of drone flights over residential areas and public parks.

Healy said the decision to focus on the US market was driven in part by the relative clarity of Federal Aviation Administration regulations compared to the unresolved policy environment in Ireland. He added that Tulsa's ambition to become the drone capital of the world aligned directly with Manna's own growth objectives.

On the job numbers, Healy said 1,000 jobs in Tulsa over the next few years was the correct figure, adding that growth into other US cities would determine the wider national employment impact.

Manna plans to address resident concerns around noise and privacy by switching from cameras to radar and routing aircraft away from schools, cemeteries, and other sensitive locations. The company expects to have the majority of Tulsa covered within one year of operations commencing.

The Tulsa move positions Manna as one of a small number of drone delivery operators globally to have moved from proof-of-concept to city-scale infrastructure deployment, with the US market representing its primary commercial focus for the foreseeable future.