Charles Alcock is managing editor of the AIN Media Group, having rejoined the company in 2019. He has been an aviation journalist since 1986, and previously worked for AIN from 1990 to 2017, most recently as editor-in-chief. His main focus is on covering new aviation technology and business models, as well as international news.
Having been raised in the London area, Alcock studied at the University of Manchester in the UK and earned an honors degree in Politics and Modern History. He speaks English and French, and some German.

Managing Editor

Charles Alcock

Honeywell is developing potential anti-drone defense applications for Odys Aviation’s uncrewed hybrid-electric Laila VTOL aircraft. In a March 31 announcement, the companies confirmed that they have been working for more than a year to prepare Honeywell’s Stationary and Mobile UAS Reveal and Intercept (SAMURAI) autonomous airborne platform for deployment on Laila.
According to the partners, the combination of SAMURAI and Laila would provide a new defensive layer between ground-based counter-uncrewed aircraft systems (C-UAS) sensors and sophisticated missile defense systems. They hope the new platform could reduce reliance on costly kinetic defense systems.
The quest for more effective anti-drone protection is being stepped up against the backdrop of the current Gulf conflict in which the U.S. and regional allies are struggling to guard against Iranian drone attacks. Honeywell and California-based start-up Odys indicated that the capability they are developing could help protect critical infrastructure such as oil refineries, pipelines, and offshore production platforms.
“Drone threats have fundamentally changed the economics and operational requirements of air defense,” said Odys CEO 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 defense layer designed for today and into the future.”
<h2>Eight-hour Missions</h2>
Running on Jet A and JP-8 fuels, Laila’s hybrid powertrain is expected to support a range of up to almost 400 nm or a flight endurance of eight hours with a payload of around 130 pounds. Honeywell and Odys said that this approach avoids the need for electric charging infrastructure in remote expeditionary and offshore environments.
According to Norm Balchunas, Honeywell’s senior director for C-UAS, electronic warfare, and cyber business development, the company is already working with the U.S. Joint Interagency Task Force 401 on C-UAS deployment options. The project, led by the U.S. Army, was launched in August 2025 by the Department of Defense to support efforts to address drone threats across military branches and agencies.
Honeywell and Odys aim to demonstrate the Laila/SAMURAI platform during exercises due to be held in Norway in June. “Our focus is on fast-tracking capabilities to customers immediately,” said Balchunas, who is a retired U.S. Air Force (USAF) colonel.
The SAMURAI system combines command and control technologies (of TRL-8 readiness or higher) from several companies, including secure communications/data exchange, operator interfaces, detection, identification, classification, and tracking. Collectively, these are intended to be able to defeat multiple small UAS threats in groups 1, 2, and 3.
In September 2025, Odys announced plans to conduct <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/air-transport/2025-09-18/oman-will-assess-use-cases-odys-laila-hybrid-electric-vtol">flight trials with Laila in Oman</a>, building on an earlier partnership in the region with UAE-based Aramex that was considering cargo missions for the uncrewed vehicle. Odys has longer-term ambitions to develop a nine-passenger, blown-wing regional airliner called Alta that would have a range of between 174 nm and 652 nm in either all-electric or hybrid propulsion mode.

News and issues relating to civil and military unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) of all kinds and sizes, including those used for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), combat (unmanned combat air vehicles, or UCAVs), law enforcement, research and other applications. Of particular focus is the FAA's planned integration of UAS into the U.S. national airspace system.

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