Honeywell Aerospace and Odys Aviation have collaborated to develop a persistent airborne defense solution designed to protect strategic assets and critical infrastructure from rapidly evolving drone threats.
The effort integrates Honeywell’s Stationary and Mobile UAS Reveal and Intercept (SAMURAI) autonomous airborne platform onto the Odys Laila, a long-range hybrid-electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). The collaboration builds on more than a year of joint development and systems integration work and supports broader efforts to strengthen U.S. leadership in advanced aviation while accelerating deployment of American-built drone technologies for defense and infrastructure protection.
The combined Laila-SAMURAI system is designed to operate as a defensive layer between ground-based sensors and high-end missile defense systems. By extending protection coverage across vast and remote areas, the platform helps reduce reliance on costly kinetic defenses. This capability is particularly relevant for distributed energy infrastructure, including refineries, pipelines and offshore production platforms.
Matt Milas, President, Defense and Space, Honeywell Aerospace, commented, “SAMURAI delivers critical counter-UAS capabilities with proven reliability, scalability and seamless integration into existing defense architectures. By leveraging Honeywell’s long history in avionics, sensors and defense 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 SAMURAI system. Its hybrid propulsion system is compatible with Jet A, Jet A-1 and JP-8 fuels, providing sufficient onboard power to remain in flight for up to eight hours across a range of approximately 450 miles. The aircraft does not require dedicated charging infrastructure and can be deployed in remote, expeditionary and offshore environments.
James Dorris, CEO of Odys Aviation, added, “Drone threats have fundamentally changed the economics and operational requirements of air defense. 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 defense layer designed for today and into the future.”
The SAMURAI system is a modular, turnkey solution built using model-based systems engineering. It supports integration of customer-selected sensors and effectors and is compliant with Modular Open Systems Approach standards, enabling interoperability, lifecycle visibility and long-term sustainment within existing defense frameworks.
