Epirus Leonidas Microwave Weapon Downs 49 drones at a time

In a demonstration not so much fire shooting but more of the advantages of microwaves, an anti-drone weapon of Epirus Leonidas knocked out 49 air vehicles (UAV) (UAU) in one time.

Two things that make drones particularly worrying is that they are small enough to appear from unexpected corners of the sky and they are cheap enough so that they can be deployed in large numbers. In fact, they are so cheap that they represent not only a military threat, but a serious danger for the civil aviation of irresponsible, playful or simply unconscious people.

This is the reason why there are so many different types of anti-meal weapons. Everyone presents its advantages and disadvantages, none providing a unique panacea. Instead, everyone must be adapted to a particular scenario or deployed as part of a diaper defense strategy.

A counter-measure is the use of microwave weapons like Leonidas. Named according to the Spartan King who held a Persian invasion with a force much lower than the battle of thermopylaes, Leonidas is one of the weapons of a family based on the use of long impulse microwave beams to burn electronics of small drones.

The idea is not new, but Epirus has improved on previous iterations using gallium nitride semiconductors (GAN) to generate microwave instead of fragile and swallowed magnetron vacuum tubes. This allows smaller, more durable and more mobile systems that use less power. In addition, Leonidas is focused on software and can adapt its waveform for an optimal effect, it is sure to use around humans that can be in the field of fire, and the current system has twice the range of the 2022 version.

But the main characteristic is its “one to several” capacity which gives it operational flexibility to manage a variety of scenarios. For example, he can hit the targets with precision to eliminate hostile drones while avoiding collateral damage, be programmed to install zones without flight with safety corridors to eliminate hostiles while allowing friendly matches to pass, maintain a continuous shooting without overheating and delete swarms in one go.

On August 26, 2025, in front of an audience only at the invitation to the Aterbury camp, in Indiana, Leonidas participated in a live shooting exercise in which he disabled 61 drones with 100%success. This included the murdering of two groups of three drones who approached without warning in opposite directions, targeting one of the two drones selected by a public member before deactivating the second, and intercept and drop a single drone in a predetermined security zone.

Then came the party piece, he took more than four dozen drones at a time, letting them out of the sky simultaneously with a single impulse. It may not seem much in words, but a video supplied by the company suddenly crushed their lot as if someone had cut off.

“This is a moment of the watershed for Epius,” said Andy Lower, CEO of Epirus. “We believe that the presentation of our armed electromagnetic interference is the most effective way to communicate that Leonidas are the only counter -army for the mission for the fight for one to several. Those who joined us were witness to this first hand at the time when 61 drones increased – and 61 have dropped.”

Source: Epirus