Epirus to Build Directed Energy Anti-Drone Weapon For U.S Army

The U.S. Army awarded Epirus $66.1 million to support the Leonidas Indirect Fire Protection Capability-High-Power Microwave Program.

Under the contract, Epirus will collaborate with the Army’s Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office (RCCTO) to deliver several prototype systems of Leonidas in 2023 with options to acquire additional support services. Epirus plans to deliver and support prototypes of integrated HPM capability and, as part of the contract’s design, work with the RCCTO to transition Leonidas into a future program of record after successful demonstration of the prototypes.

“Time and time again, we’ve seen that current air defense systems are ill-equipped to tackle the threat of autonomous drone swarms. This contract with the RCCTO brings new counter-swarm capability to the UAS fight with our cost-effective, modular and upgradable Leonidas systems,” said Ken Bedingfield, Chief Executive Officer, Epirus. “As the threat environment continues to evolve, so, too, will our capabilities, ensuring the U.S. Army is equipped with effective countermeasures to near-term and over-the-horizon electronic threats for decades to come.”

Epirus’ Leonidas counter-electronics system demonstrated lethality against a broad range of UAS and electronic systems and achieved swarm defeat at multiple U.S. Government-sponsored test events, outperforming six down-selected systems. The latest iteration of Leonidas was introduced by the company in April 2022.

The company’s software-defined approach to HPM enables upgradable lethality through simple software-based updates to deployed systems. Leonidas also features an open system architecture to facilitate integration with the Joint Force’s existing and future command-and-control networks.

Epirus privately funded the research, development and validation of its systems.