Microwave weapon downs 49 drones with a single blast
In a demonstration not so much of marksmanship but more of the advantages of microwaves, an Epirus Leonidas directed energy, high-power microwave (HPM) anti-drone weapon has knocked 49 Uncrewed Aerial Vehicles (UAV) out of the air with one shot.
Two things that make drones particularly concerning is that they're small enough to appear from unexpected corners of the sky and they're cheap enough that they can be deployed in huge numbers. In fact, they are so cheap that they pose not only a military threat, but a serious hazard to civilian aviation from individuals who are irresponsible, mischievous, or just oblivious.
This is the reason there are so many different types of anti-drone weapons. Each has their advantages and disadvantages, with none providing a one-size-fits-all panacea. Instead, each needs to be fitted to a particular scenario or deployed as part of a layered defense strategy.
One countermeasure is the use of microwave weapons like Leonidas. Named after the Spartan king who held off a Persian invasion with a vastly inferior force at the Battle of Thermopylae, Leonidas is one of a family of weapons based on using long-pulse microwave beams to burn out the electronics of small drones.
The idea isn't new, but Epirus has improved on previous iterations by using Gallium Nitride (GaN) semiconductors to generate microwaves instead of fragile, power-hungry magnetron vacuum tubes. This allows for smaller, more durable, and more mobile systems that use less power. In addition, Leonidas is software driven and can tailor its waveform for optimum effect, it is safe to use around humans who may be in the field of fire, and the present system has twice the range of the 2022 version.
But the core feature is its "one-to-many" capability that gives it operational flexibility to handle a variety of scenarios. For example, it can strike against targets with precision to take out hostile drones while avoiding collateral damage, be programmed to set up no-fly zones with safety corridors to take out hostiles while allowing friendlies to pass, sustain continuous fire without overheating, and take down swarms in one go.
The Leonidas microwave weapon on an armored vehicleOn August 26, 2025, in front of an invitation-only audience at Camp Atterbury, Indiana, Leonidas took part in a live fire exercise in which it disabled 61 drones with 100% success. This included knocking out two groups of three drones approaching without warning from opposite directions, targeting one of two drones selected by an audience member before disabling the second one, and intercepting and dropping a single drone into a predetermined safe zone.
Then came the party piece, it took on over four dozen drones at once, dropping them out of the sky simultaneously with a single pulse. That may not seem like much in words, but a video provided by the company had the lot suddenly crashing like someone had cut their strings.
Epirus’ Leonidas High-Power Microwave Defeats 49-Drone Swarm"This is a watershed moment for Epirus," said Andy Lowery, Epirus CEO. "We believe showcasing our weaponized electromagnetic interference is the most effective way to communicate that Leonidas is the only mission-capable, counter-swarm solution for the one-to-many fight.Those who joined us witnessed this first-hand as 61 drones went up – and 61 went down."
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David Szondy is a playwright, author and journalist based in Seattle, Washington. A retired field archaeologist and university lecturer, he has a background in the history of science, technology, and medicine with a particular emphasis on aerospace, military, and cybernetic subjects. In addition, he is the author of four award-winning plays, a novel, reviews, and a plethora of scholarly works ranging from industrial archaeology to law. David has worked as a feature writer for many international magazines and has been a feature writer for New Atlas since 2011.
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spyinthesky September 28, 2025 03:11 AM‘ … fragile, power-hungry magnetron vacuum tubes’ perhaps I’m wrong but my study of radar of 2nd WW era told me that the game changing invention of Magnatrons replaced fragile vacuum tube microwave generation thus allowing high power miniaturised airborne radar. Magnatrons are what power microwave ovens and I have yet to discover a vacuum tube inside one.
Easybee September 28, 2025 03:32 AMThis is powerful! It can protect critical infrastructure from incessant drone attacks from the enemy and may end the war!
pete-y September 29, 2025 02:04 AMLooking for some demonstrations in Ukraine. That is where it needs to show it works. Will it down a drone on a fibre. Presume yes, but could boxing the electronics be a way of protecting them from the 'fryer'.
Brian M September 29, 2025 06:33 AMCould be a useful tool for a while , till drones get hardened against microwaves - Not that hard think of the mesh metal screen in the door of your microwave.
Homosepian September 29, 2025 08:13 AMYou can take 300 drones and place them right in front of a tank - and let it fire anti-personnel darts shell, and declare the tank as a distruptive anti drone tech… Show a full video from 2-3 angles.
Trylon September 30, 2025 04:33 PM@Brian M, sure, except that if you seal off your drone using Faraday cages, you can't get control signals through, either.
Techutante October 1, 2025 03:54 AM If you have a microwave turret and a laser turret, that pretty well covers it. Saving comment.FREE NEWSLETTER
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