A new high-powered microwave system that can knock swarms of drones out of the sky at once is going to “touch every aspect of warfare,” according to Epirus founder, Joe Lonsdale.
“It’s kind of like a Star Trek shield,” Lonsdale, founder of Epirus and a co-founder of fast-rising defense technology company Palantir, explained of its Leonidas counter-drone system. “It’s able to turn them off from very far away.”
“This is going to touch every aspect of warfare over the next decade,” said Lonsdale. “We can knock down some pretty advanced drones.”
Defense tech startup Epirus secured another $250 million in a Series D funding round, which was announced Wednesday, bringing its total venture funding to over $550 million.
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Epirus’ Leonidas counter-drone system sends out a high-powered microwave beam that stops drones in their tracks. (Epirus)
Epirus’ Leonidas system is a ground-based, directed energy weapon that fires off an electromagnetic pulse to disable swarms of drones, or it can neutralize precision targets. The company aims to help the military shift away from a “1 to 1 mindset to a ‘1 to many’ way of thinking for short-range defense,” according to CEO Andy Lowery.
Drone swarms have been a key frontline tactic in the Russia-Ukraine war because most defense systems are designed to take out one unmanned vehicle at a time. Additionally, in the Middle East, the U.S. has been using multimillion-dollar missiles to shoot down Houthi drones that are built for around $2,000 or less.
“Swarms of drones is where war is going, and currently you have swarms of drones that are very expensive and very difficult to stop,” said Lonsdale. “It’s not just drones, they’re all sorts of different types of uses for this,” he added, predicting that one day the technology might be deployed to freeze up planes in the sky and protect satellites. The technology has already been…
