Honeywell integrates SAMURAI C-UAS system on Odys Laila UAV | Military Aerospace
AI Analysis
Honeywell has integrated its SAMURAI C-UAS system with Odys Aviation's Laila UAV, creating a persistent airborne defense layer. This system is designed to protect critical infrastructure by extending coverage over large and remote areas, reducing reliance on costly kinetic interceptors.
Key Takeaways
- The Laila-SAMURAI system offers a persistent airborne defense layer.
- Laila UAV has a hybrid-electric design with up to eight hours of flight time and a 450-mile range.
- SAMURAI's modular approach allows integration of various sensors and effectors.
- The system aims to protect distributed infrastructure like refineries and pipelines.
- The collaboration builds on over a year of joint development and systems integration.
Why It Matters
The integration of SAMURAI with Laila UAV represents a significant advancement in C-UAS capabilities, offering a cost-effective and scalable solution to protect critical infrastructure. This development addresses the evolving drone threat landscape by providing a flexible and persistent defense layer, enhancing operational readiness and strategic defense posture.
Honeywell integrates SAMURAI C-UAS system on Odys Laila UAV | Military Aerospace
Uncrewed
Honeywell integrates SAMURAI C-UAS system on Odys Laila UAV
The combined Laila-SAMURAI system is intended to provide a defensive layer between ground-based sensors and high-end missile defense systems.
3 min read
Key Highlights
- The Laila-SAMURAI system offers a persistent airborne defense layer, extending coverage over large and remote areas like energy platforms and pipelines.
- Laila's hybrid-electric design provides up to eight hours of flight time and a range of approximately 450 miles, supporting long-range missions without fixed infrastructure.
- SAMURAI's modular, open-systems approach allows integration of various sensors and effectors, enhancing adaptability and future scalability.
Honeywell
PHOENIX - Honeywell in Phoenix is collaborating with Odys Aviation in Long Beach, Calif., on deploying its persistent airborne defense solution designed to protect assets from evolving drone threats. The effort focuses on integrating Honeywell Aerospace’s Stationary and Mobile UAS Reveal and Intercept (SAMURAI) autonomous airborne platform with Odys Aviation’s long-range Laila uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV). The companies said the counter-uncrewed aerial system (C-UAS) builds on more than a year of joint development and systems integration work.
The combined Laila-SAMURAI system is intended to provide a defensive layer between ground-based sensors and high-end missile defense systems, reducing reliance on costly kinetic interceptors while extending coverage over large and remote areas. The capability is aimed at protecting distributed infrastructure such as refineries, pipelines, and offshore energy platforms.
"SAMURAI delivers critical counter-UAS capabilities with proven reliability, scalability and seamless integration into existing defense architectures," said Matt Milas, president of Defense and Space at Honeywell Aerospace. "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."
"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."
Related: NASA seeks industry input on C-UAS detection and analysis services