AZ IMEX turns years of frontline drone experience into BALOR, a laser defense platform built to stop next-generation UAS threats.
BALOR exists because the threat outpaced the defenses meant to stop it. Our approach doesn't rely on more power, it relies on precision, and it works at a fraction of what legacy systems need.”
WARSAW, POLAND, July 7, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- AZ IMEX, a Poland-based defense and unmanned systems company, today announced the launch of BALOR Laser Defense, its directed-energy counter-UAS business focused on developing laser-defense systems for Ukraine and allied markets.— Illia Aksonov, Founder and CEO of AZ IMEX and BALOR Laser Defense
In coordination with the Ukrainian Armed Forces, BALOR Laser Defense is developing precision laser technology designed to counter evolving UAS threats. The modular system is engineered to secure frontline military operations as well as protect critical civilian infrastructure, power grids, and strategic facilities from large-scale drone attacks. BALOR has developed a functional prototype that has undergone initial validation against drone hulls and is preparing for its next phase of live operational testing.
"We spent years building and supplying drone systems directly to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, so we understand how these threats operate," said Illia Aksonov, founder and CEO of AZ IMEX and BALOR Laser Defense. "BALOR is the logical next step: taking our frontline insights and applying them to defense. Backed by a technical team with significant scientific and engineering depth, we are building agile, high-endurance laser technology designed to help counter large-scale drone attacks against frontline positions, critical infrastructure, and strategic facilities."
BALOR Laser Defense was launched out of AZ IMEX, a Poland-based defense and unmanned systems company that has supported Ukraine's defense since shortly after Russia's full-scale invasion. After manufacturing and supplying FPV drones, fiber-optic drones, and related systems to frontline Ukrainian units, AZ IMEX developed BALOR to apply its battlefield experience with drone warfare to the next challenge: helping stop them.
Designed in both fixed-site and mobile configurations, the system can protect frontline positions, critical civilian infrastructure, power grids, government facilities, and strategic sites exposed to large-scale drone attacks.
BALOR's advantage is its low-power architecture, which reduces thermal stress on optics and internal components, enabling sustained operation and rapid, sequential engagements during intensive drone activity.
BALOR is built around a battlefield-driven development model. Working in coordination with the Ukrainian Armed Forces, its counter-UAS laser will be repeatedly tested, refined, and improved based on operational feedback, allowing the technology to evolve as drone threats and battlefield requirements change.
Illia Aksonov, founder and CEO of AZ IMEX and BALOR Laser Defense, brings experience across electronics manufacturing, drone production, and defense supply chains. BALOR's technical development is led by Viacheslav Kolpakov, PhD Eng., CTO and Technical Integration Lead, together with a 14-specialist Ukrainian technical team that includes 11 PhD/Doctor-level physics and software experts, including four full professors. Together, the leadership team combines frontline defense production experience with deep expertise in laser physics, optics, software engineering, and unmanned systems validation. For operational security, the full engineering team is not being publicly named.
BALOR is currently preparing for its next phase of performance testing to validate tracking capabilities and integration with fire-control frameworks. Developed to meet urgent regional needs first, BALOR's Warsaw-based European production base is intended to support future production, integration, and expansion into NATO and allied international markets.
AZ IMEX was recently accepted into the first edition of the BraveTechEU DefTech Forge initiative, a program designed to accelerate dual-use deep-tech startups, and participated in the DefTech Forge in Estonia organized in collaboration with the Estonian Defence Forces.
About AZ IMEX
AZ IMEX is a Poland-based defense and unmanned systems company supporting Ukraine's defense. The company supplies FPV drones, fiber-optic drones, and related systems to frontline units.
About BALOR Laser Defense
BALOR Laser Defense develops modular counter-UAS laser technology for multi-layer air defense. Combining frontline drone development experience with advanced laser engineering, BALOR delivers directed-energy systems designed to protect critical civilian infrastructure, government facilities, and military assets by integrating with existing radar, vehicle, fixed-site, and broader air-defense networks.
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Jason Worlledge
BALOR Laser Defense
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