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Honeywell has announced a collaboration with Odys Aviation, a dual-use aerospace company building hybrid-electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft, to deliver a persistent airborne defence solution designed to protect critical infrastructure and strategic assets from rapidly evolving drone threats.
The collaboration on this counter-unmanned aerial system builds on more than a year of joint development and systems integration work to adapt Honeywell Aerospace’s Stationary and Mobile UAS Reveal and Intercept Autonomous Airborne platform for deployment on Odys’ long-range Laila UAV.
Together, the Laila-SAMURAI system introduces a new defensive layer between ground-based sensors and high-end missile defence systems, reducing reliance on costly kinetic defences while extending protection coverage across vast and remote areas.
This capability is particularly relevant for distributed energy infrastructure including refineries, pipelines and offshore production platforms.
“The demand for anti-drone technologies is growing rapidly in Asia Pacific, with needs for systems that can track and neutralize unmanned aerial systems,” according to Sathesh Ramiah, Vice President, Defense and Space, Asia Pacific, Honeywell Aerospace.
“Honeywell’s SAMURAI system delivers critical counter-UAS capabilities with proven reliability, scalability and seamless integration into existing defence architectures.
“By leveraging Honeywell’s long history in avionics, sensors and defence systems, we are enabling C-UAS capabilities that protect farther, respond faster and operate with minimal downtime.”
Laila will serve as the first airborne application of the Honeywell SAMURAI system, and its hybrid propulsion system – compatible with Jet A, Jet A-1, and JP-8 fuels – produces enough power to stay in flight for up to eight hours across a 450-mile range.
Laila eliminates the need for dedicated charging infrastructure, enabling rapid deployment in remote, expeditionary and offshore environments.
Built using model-based systems engineering, SAMURAI provides a turnkey, modular solution that incorporates diverse customer-selected sensors and effectors.
The system is compliant with Modular Open Systems Approach standards, supporting interoperability, lifecycle visibility and long-term sustainment.
“Drone threats have fundamentally changed the economics and operational requirements of air defence,” according to Odys Aviation chief executive James Dorris.
“Critical infrastructure and forward-operating locations require persistent protection across large areas and the ability to engage threats at the horizon long before they’re at the doorstep.
“By combining Honeywell’s SAMURAI system with the endurance, runway independence and onboard power capability of Laila, we're introducing a new airborne defence layer designed for today and into the future.”
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