The popularization of drones in combat scenarios due to their low cost, high availability and tactical capabilities has resulted in development of systems to eliminate them more and more advanced. In Spain, this type of anti-aircraft dome combines electronic warfare that intervenes in the signals between the plane and the operator with more expeditious measures using munitions, but there are halfway alternatives.
The Epirus company has just announced the Leonidas expeditionary system which uses Microwave radiation to eliminate aerial threats. This technology was developed under a €4.95 million contract awarded by the US Navy’s Office of Naval Research, the Joint Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Office and the US Marine Corps Combat Laboratory. American.
The future of the program will pass, as explained in a press release, through a initial integration with the common aviation command and control system of the Marine Corps. This technology allows the military to bring together in one place all the information obtained by deployed sensors, from aircraft to surface vehicles, in order to gain better situational awareness and accelerate decision-making.
Integration of Leonidas into an armored 8×8
The testing part will also consist of field experiments and “multi-platform tests in expedition scenarios” where the Marines are already established. The development is based on high power microwave technology (HPM) and is expected to enter service late this year as Expeditionary Directed Energy Counter-Swarm (ExDECS).
“At a time when drone warfare is making daily headlines, we are proud to bring ExDECS to life and work with the Marine Corps to develop an expeditionary HPM capability“, said Andy Lowery, CEO of Epirus. “We are committed to accelerating the delivery of operational HPM capabilities for anti-drone systems across the joint force.”
Energy Frying Drones
The Leonidas Expeditionary system is the latest derivation of the Leonidas HPM suite of systems and uses a revolutionary approach. […] that Significantly reduces system size and weight” compared to the original model, they specify in the same note. These features allow its integration on board light tactical vehicles while giving the operator better control.
Omicrono
In 2022, the US Navy’s Surface Warfare Center created a specific division for the research and development of directed energy weapons based on high-power microwaves. Unlike lasers, another very important area of study for the US Navy, this class of systems uses bursts of energy in the microwave spectrum to disrupt or destroy all electronic components of enemy systemsas shown TWZ. These include drones, small boats and even missiles.
Leonidas Expeditionary Microwave System
“HPMs and lasers work in parallel in many areas” Kevin Cogley, chief of the Navy’s weapons systems division, who spent several years working with high-energy lasers before making the decision to lead the new division, said at the time.
However, “a unique feature in the high-power microwave field is that we can have gradual effects,” he continued. “In HPM we can have various effects on the target, from blockage to physical destruction electrical systems”.
It is therefore a technological approach very different from other weapon systems because, in many cases, “no external physical effects are observed during a confrontation”. Instead, the “results are almost instantaneous.” Under the Navy’s approach, the use of microwaves is a “desirable alternative to firing a kinetic weapon,” such as another interceptor drone, missile or conventional munitions.
One of the most striking characteristics of this type of weapons is that they offer a very low cost per shot compared to conventional ammunition. To put things into perspective, an interceptor missile can cost thousands of dollars each, while directed energy systems – like microwaves or lasers – cost just pennies. According to Epirus, the the cost for each shot of Leonidas is 0.45 euros.
“If we look at a kinetic weapons system, the directed energy provides a many advantages in terms of magazine depth” Cogley continued. “We can keep shooting as long as there’s power. “This second branch of virtually unlimited ammunition is another advantage that a microwave weapon brings.
Against the swarms
The third differentiating capability of HPM systems is that they can operate in a potentially less-lethal manner, meaning they can disable manned vehicles without directly harming their occupants. Additionally, microwaves do not require extreme tracking precision like lasers – with much more concentrated energy – but instead can emit electromagnetic radiation over a larger area, resulting in the impact of several drones at the same time.
Leonidas’ performance against the swarms
“The fact that you can simultaneously track and immediately move on to the next target to do not attack a single swarm, but several swarmsthat’s a big advantage,” Don Sullivan, head of directed energy at Raytheon, said in 2018. These large-scale effects and the speed of light at which electromagnetic radiation travels make it possible to attack targets that maneuver too quickly for kinetic interceptors to reach them.
In the declarations to Interesting engineeringa spokesperson for Epirus said that the expeditionary Leonidas is capable of shoot down any number of group 1 and group 2 drones which fall within their field of protection. According to the United States Department of Defense classification, a Group 2 drone has a maximum takeoff weight of 25 kilograms and a nominal flight altitude of 1,000 meters.
“In simpler terms, we can defeat multiple drones at once and multiple swarms over a period of time,” he assured the same media. The United States currently has several microwave development programs, although it is not known whether they have been used in war scenarios.
