One of the critical problems on the 21st-century battlefield is the emergence of swarms of attacking or intelligence-gathering drones and UAVs. As part of the development efforts for advanced interception measures against UAV and drone swarms, the company Epirus released new documentation showing that its Leonidas system successfully intercepted a swarm of 49 drones simultaneously.
The system’s goal is to intercept drone swarms and various small unmanned aerial systems, providing protection for military and civilian systems as well as maneuvering forces. The Leonidas fires high-power focused microwaves (HPM) at attacking swarms at negligible financial cost. The system possesses the ability to tune the microwave wavelength to increase impact efficiency and prevent potential jamming of attack frequencies. The system is mobile and can be installed on land, naval, and aerial platforms. It utilizes high-power pulsed microwaves, generated by high-frequency electron acceleration in an innovative device combined with a Gallium nitride (GaN) solid-state device.
The documented interception took place as part of a trial held last August at the US military base Camp Atterbury in Indiana. During the trial, a total of approximately 61 drones were intercepted in five different rounds, with a 100% success rate. The Leonidas system’s ability to intercept a large number of drones simultaneously constitutes a breakthrough in the field of drone interception and positions Epirus at the global forefront of the domain. Until now, interception systems based on high-power microwaves only managed to intercept swarms containing a few single drones; to neutralize a large swarm, they were required to perform multiple interceptions sequentially.
Beyond the ability to intercept many drones simultaneously, the Leonidas system demonstrated additional advanced interception capabilities during the trial. These included the interception of two groups of drones moving in opposite directions, the targeted interception of a single drone within a swarm, and the downing of a drone swarm in a pre-defined zone.
Against the backdrop of these successes, Epirus launched the second generation of the Leonidas system last July, in which the operational range was doubled and microwave power increased by 30%. In the new system, the pulse transmission rate is faster, and the batteries are arranged in high density, allowing for longer operation times while reducing reliance on external power sources. Two second-generation systems are expected to be delivered to the US Army as part of a $43 million contract, in addition to four existing prototypes delivered in 2024 that demonstrated operational capabilities in trials held in the Middle East and the Indo-Pacific region.
One of the critical problems on the 21st-century battlefield is the emergence of swarms of attacking or intelligence-gathering drones and UAVs. As part of the development efforts for advanced interception measures against UAV and drone swarms, the company Epirus released new documentation showing that its Leonidas system successfully intercepted a swarm of 49 drones simultaneously.
The system’s goal is to intercept drone swarms and various small unmanned aerial systems, providing protection for military and civilian systems as well as maneuvering forces. The Leonidas fires high-power focused microwaves (HPM) at attacking swarms at negligible financial cost. The system possesses the ability to tune the microwave wavelength to increase impact efficiency and prevent potential jamming of attack frequencies. The system is mobile and can be installed on land, naval, and aerial platforms. It utilizes high-power pulsed microwaves, generated by high-frequency electron acceleration in an innovative device combined with a Gallium nitride (GaN) solid-state device.
The documented interception took place as part of a trial held last August at the US military base Camp Atterbury in Indiana. During the trial, a total of approximately 61 drones were intercepted in five different rounds, with a 100% success rate. The Leonidas system’s ability to intercept a large number of drones simultaneously constitutes a breakthrough in the field of drone interception and positions Epirus at the global forefront of the domain. Until now, interception systems based on high-power microwaves only managed to intercept swarms containing a few single drones; to neutralize a large swarm, they were required to perform multiple interceptions sequentially.
Beyond the ability to intercept many drones simultaneously, the Leonidas system demonstrated additional advanced interception capabilities during the trial. These included the interception of two groups of drones moving in opposite directions, the targeted interception of a single drone within a swarm, and the downing of a drone swarm in a pre-defined zone.
Against the backdrop of these successes, Epirus launched the second generation of the Leonidas system last July, in which the operational range was doubled and microwave power increased by 30%. In the new system, the pulse transmission rate is faster, and the batteries are arranged in high density, allowing for longer operation times while reducing reliance on external power sources. Two second-generation systems are expected to be delivered to the US Army as part of a $43 million contract, in addition to four existing prototypes delivered in 2024 that demonstrated operational capabilities in trials held in the Middle East and the Indo-Pacific region.