Epirus, General Dynamics Debut Drone-Disabling Prototype Vehicle

Stryker Leonidas was recently field demonstrated at a U.S. government testing site.

Epirus Stryker Leonidas
General Dynamics/Epirus

Epirus, a technology company developing directed energy systems, and General Dynamics Land Systems announced today the introduction of Stryker Leonidas.

After signing a strategic teaming agreement in October 2021, the companies have successfully integrated Epirus' high-power microwave (HPM) array with the Stryker ground combat vehicle and will unveil the integrated system at the Association of the U.S. Army's (AUSA) Annual Meeting & Exposition in Washington, D.C.

Developed in under a year, Stryker Leonidas was recently field demonstrated at a U.S. government testing site successfully disabling individual drone targets and swarms of drones. The integration of Leonidas, a powerful HPM phased array, with Stryker, the U.S. Army's largest combat vehicle fleet, brings counter-electronics capabilities to the frontlines.

Leonidas' counter-swarm effectiveness fills a pressing short range air defense (SHORAD) capability gap for the joint force as the threat of swarming drones continues to endanger troops and civilians overseas and in the homeland.

The continued evolution of adversaries' swarming drone capabilities is matched by Epirus' software-weaponeering capabilities, which allows the system to continually intake new data, update its waveforms and expand its magazine depth for enhanced SHORAD mission assurance across all domains. With its open architecture, Leonidas can integrate with a range of Command-and-Control (C2) platforms to detect, track and defeat the increasing deployment of drone technology by adversaries and non-state actors.

Stryker Leonidas is the latest edition to Epirus' suite of HPM systems – along with the company's ground-based Leonidas system for surface-to-air defense and Leonidas Pod, a mobile and compact HPM system. When deployed in tandem, the Leonidas family of products create a layered counter-swarm and counter-electronics field of protection. Epirus is also actively exploring future capabilities to defend against next-generation threats.

More in Quality Control