Drones allow for strategic attacks against the enemy without the risk of losing human lives. Their use in military applications is vast, especially for surveillance work. There is no sure-fire way of getting rid of a swarm of drones at once. One could detonate an electromagnetic pulse but that would also fry friendly electronics as well
Epirus, a startup based in Los Angeles, has come up with an answer. Their answer makes use of high-energy microwaves to destroy enemy drone swarms. The weapon is able to fire beams of microwaves that can damage electronic devices and mess with their power.
Epirus has aptly named the weapon Leonidas. It is small enough to fit on the back of a pickup truck. It’s like a portable anti-air gun but for drones. According to Epirus CEO, Leigh Madden, “Our systems allow us the capability to widen or narrow the beam and put a null in any direction to disable enemy targets and nothing else”.
The Leonidas employs an array of solid-state gallium nitride emitters similar to those found in 5G communication equipment but weaponized to fry drones. During a demo, Leonidas was able to take out all 66 drone targets and was even able to down multiple targets in one attack.
The startup is working to bring down the weapon’s size even further and also bump up its accuracy. According to them, accuracy is very important because, in case of friendly fire, the weapon is capable of “damaging the electrical power infrastructure or frying people’s electronic devices”.
The weapon seems to work like a directional EMP generator. Such a system would be really helpful against mass drone attacks.
