A Counter-Drone System That Uses High-Power Microwaves
Epirus Point Defense plans, senses and defeats drone swarms with its Leonidas microwave system, which was picked for a US directed energy pilot in October 2026.
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Eprius
A Counter-Drone System That Uses High-Power Microwaves
Epirus Inc. is a defense company whose homepage headline reads "Built to Stop Autonomous Attacks." Its page says cheap autonomous drones now come in swarms, and it presents Epirus Point Defense as a counter-drone system that can sense, decide and defeat many of them at once. Each installation is configured for the site it protects, and Epirus lists airfields, borders, ports, stadiums and convoys among the settings. The system's core is Leonidas, a high-power microwave that disables drones with non-kinetic effects, meaning without a physical strike.
Four Stages, One System
Epirus describes Point Defense in four stages. In Plan, its Kosmos Mission Suite uses real map and terrain data to model coverage and rehearse engagements in simulation. In Sense, Manta AI-Enabled Sense combines radar, camera, acoustic and passive radio data into one track picture, including at low altitude. In Decide, the Zeus command-and-control software works with a force's existing systems, and AI helps with detection and prioritization, while "operators authorize every engagement." In Effect, Leonidas acts. One operator can manage a node of up to four systems from a single airspace picture.
What Leonidas Is Claimed to Do
The page calls Leonidas a solid-state, software-defined effector. Software decides when and where it engages, so operators can hold designated safety zones, and Epirus says it can address one drone or many. The company reports that it defeated 61 of 61 drones in a live-fire test at Camp Atterbury, Indiana, in August 2025, including a 49-drone swarm with a single pulse. It adds that in January 2026 Leonidas disabled a fiber-optic-guided drone, a type designed to resist jamming. These are Epirus's own results. The site also notes systems delivered to the US Army in May 2024.
A Pilot Program for US Airspace
On October 9, 2026, Epirus announced that the Department of War selected Leonidas for its directed energy pilot program. Congress created the pilot in the Fiscal Year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act to speed up technology for protecting US airspace from drones. Joint Interagency Task Force 401 leads it, with the Federal Aviation Administration and US Northern Command among the partners. Leonidas will go through an operational assessment meant to inform updates that would allow advanced microwave use in domestic airspace. The release gives no dates.
Research With the Army on Mobile Systems
On October 13, 2026, Epirus announced a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement with the US Army's Ground Vehicle Systems Center. The joint research aims to scale Leonidas-based technology for Army maneuver forces. It will study how such effects could be used at the forward line of own troops and how mobile configurations could give formations layered protection. CEO Andy Lowery said the agreement is a chance for "collaborative research to better understand how scalable HPM solutions can contribute." The release states no timeline.
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