U.S. defense technology firm Epirus demonstrated its Leonidas high-power microwave (HPM) system at a live-fire trial in Indiana, the company announced this month. 

The Leonidas system is a high-power microwave weapon that “delivers weaponized electromagnetic interference to counter swarms of robotic, asymmetric threats.” 

According to the company, during the demonstration, attended by representatives from across the U.S. Department of Defense, other U.S. government agencies, and nine allied countries, the system successfully disabled all 61 drones. 

“The event was capped off by the defeat of a 49-drone swarm consisting of two threat representative drone types all with one instant and low-collateral pulse of high-energy electromagnetic interference,” Epirus added. 

“This is a watershed moment for Epirus,” said Andy Lowery, the company’s CEO. “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.”

Epirus began developing Leonidas in 2022. The latest version replaces older magnetron vacuum tubes with Gallium Nitride semiconductors, producing a smaller, more durable, and energy-efficient system.