Meet the Microwave Weapon That Zaps Swarms of Drones From the Sky – Decrypt

As swarms of low-cost, quick drones flood the trendy battlefield, Epirus, a Los Angeles-based startup, claims to have an answer: a high-powered microwave weapon that disables drones mid-air, with out firing a single shot.

Leonidas is a household of superior high-powered programs developed by Epirus that makes use of microwaves to disable drone swarms and different digital threats.

Named after the well-known Spartan king, Leonidas is already drawing curiosity from the Pentagon.

Not like laser-based weapons, Leonidas employs a broad microwave beam that disables drones by disrupting their digital programs.

The impact is speedy and doesn’t require data of a drone’s software program or codebase, in accordance with Epirus Chief Expertise Officer, Dr. Matt Markel.

“With lasers, you want detailed data of the goal to seek out its weak spots,” Markel informed Decrypt. “In any other case, you’re simply burning a gap in part of the system that doesn’t matter. You need to hit the components which can be essential.”

Markel mentioned microwave weapons like Leonidas can blanket an space, disrupting a number of targets with out requiring exact purpose.

“The beam for that’s usually bigger than the goal, so that you don’t have to fret in regards to the selectivity, and the results are completely different,” he mentioned.

In June, Ukraine used swarms of economic drones to assault targets in Russia. In accordance with Markel, that is the type of assault Leonidas is designed to counter, citing longstanding army methods that depend on redundancy and overwhelming power.

“In warfare, we hardly ever depend on a single level of failure,” he mentioned. “We don’t simply ship one weapon, we regularly use a number of to make sure redundancy and amplify results. We noticed that in ‘Spider Internet,’ the place a number of assaults focused the identical goal.”

Defending in opposition to these threats means being ready to deal with a number of threats concurrently, as even a single breach could cause severe harm, Markel defined.

“The know-how is already there. You don’t want a thousand—simply 10 or 20 drones can overwhelm defenses,” he mentioned. “That’s what our system is constructed to deal with. It’s designed to counter a couple of menace at a time.”

Based in 2018, Epirus launched the primary iteration of Leonidas in 2020, and a set of comparable applied sciences has stuffed out the corporate’s merchandise.

In October 2024, the U.S. Military awarded the corporate a $17 million contract. 5 months later, the corporate introduced a $250 million Sequence D funding spherical to speed up manufacturing of its Leonidas high-power microwave system.

Coupled with AI, Leonidas can observe and neutralize a number of fast-moving threats. To observers, the impact resembles a protecting power area, Markel mentioned.

“There’s AI all through the system. We be certain to get probably the most out of each system—whether or not that is energy effectivity or how we cue sensors and suggest the optimum order to prosecute targets,” he mentioned.

Whereas Epirus retains operational particulars, like vary, beneath wraps, Leonidas has already participated in joint army workout routines with U.S. allies.

Past army use, Markel mentioned Leonidas may assist legislation enforcement neutralize unauthorized drones close to authorities websites, amongst different issues.