Honeywell (NASDAQ: HON) today announced a collaboration with Odys Aviation, a dual-use aerospace company building hybrid-electric vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft, to deliver a persistent airborne defense solution designed to protect critical infrastructure and strategic assets from rapidly evolving drone threats.

The collaboration on this counter-unmanned aerial system (C-UAS) 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 (SAMURAI) Autonomous Airborne platform for deployment on Odys’ long-range Laila UAV. The effort supports the broader United States national strategy to further strengthen domestic leadership in advanced aviation and accelerate the deployment of American-built drone technologies across defense and critical infrastructure protection missions.

Together, the Laila-SAMURAI system introduces a new defensive layer between ground-based sensors and high-end missile defense systems, reducing reliance on costly kinetic defenses 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.

“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.”

— Matt Milas, president, Defense and Space, Honeywell Aerospace. 

“Drone threats have fundamentally changed the economics and operational requirements of air defense,” said James Dorris, CEO of Odys Aviation. “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.”

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.