Epirus zaps fibre-optic FPV with Leonidas microwave weapon

Jamming is the most common and effective wide area defence against drones. Fibre-optic drones make jamming impossible. Epirus has developed a microwave weapon called Leonidas that has demonstrated the ability to defeat fibre-optic controlled drones. 

BLUF: 

• Tests with the Leonidas high powered microwave in December 2025 demonstrated the ability to disable a fibre-optic drone. 
• Many counter-drone solutions rely on electromagnetic energy and this growing field appears to hold a lot of promise for the counter-drone layer of a country’s air defence. 

US company Epirus has demonstrated the ability of its Leonidas high-powered microwave to disable a fibre-optic FPV in US government tests, according to a January 13 press release. 

The video demonstrating the effect shows the system deployed on the back of a pickup truck, quickly disabling a hovering quadcopter drone. The demonstration builds on an earlier test in which Leonidas was used to bring down 49 drones simultaneously. However, fibre-optic FPVs are an interesting challenge because, unlike the swarm intercept, they cannot be jammed. The demonstration reflects the ability of the system to handle multiple threat types, and the potential limits of conventional jamming.

Leonidas is already in service with the US Army as the Indirect Fire Protection Capability-High-Power Microwave (IFPC-HPM) system. It was procured in 2023 to protect critical sites and followed by an additional contract in 2025. It can be integrated into the Indirect Fire Protection Capability (IFPC), which is a sort of catch-all low altitude air defence system designed to protect larger systems like Patriot or THAAD.  It is also used by the US Multi-Domain Task Forces to provide point protection for Typhon missile launchers and the Dark Eagle hypersonic weapon. 

There are several systems using different high-energy aspects of the electromagnetic spectrum to defeat small drones. Jamming is of course the most widely-known, simply acting on the radio frequency control links between the drone and operator. High energy lasers are also gaining traction, which destroy drones through a very concentrated beam of light. 

• Iron Beam 450: Israel completes development of laser air defence 
• IBCS integrates IFPC to defeat manoeuvring threat – Calibre Defence 
• More lasers: DragonFire downs high speed drone in UK trials – Calibre Defence
• NATO member orders high-energy laser for drone defence  

The primary differences at present are the energy demands – which can be very high for lasers – and the ability to engage multiple targets simultaneously. Lasers defeat one target at a time, and may need to power down for cooling if used for too long. High-powered microwaves and jamming can defeat groups of targets and offer area effects respectively. Whilst lasers and jamming have gained a lot of traction, with Israel, the Netherlands, and the UK notably procuring or deploying systems in the past 12 months, high-powered microwaves are yet to catch on, it seems. 

Tech profile: Leonidas High-Powered Microwave Weapon

Leonidas is designed to be effective against small UAVs, 27 kg or less, in swarm attack scenarios. It is a solid-state, phased array, high-power microwave system using Gallium Nitride semiconductors for counter-electronics effects. 

What does all this mean exactly? Solid state technology is an advance over vacuum tube technology used in older microwave devices. It means that the chips generating the microwave energy are built from solid materials – Gallium Nitride in this instance. GaN is valuable because it can handle very high levels of power, switch on and off very quickly, and is also very compact compared to alternative materials and solutions. 

So, in essence, Leonidas is able to deliver vast amounts of energy to a drone very quickly and then switch to another target and repeat that process – imagine microwaving your phone and what that would do to the chips inside, and that is the effect that the system is designed to achieve. 

The phased array means that instead of turning the system, like some radars that rotate, Leonidas is built of many antennas that are electronically steered onto the target. This also means that its energy can be focused into a very tight beam against a single target, or distributed to disrupt a cluster of targets. 

The energy it delivers is called non-ionizing radiation, which sounds bad, but unlike X-rays or gamma rays (ionizing radiation), non-ionizing radiation does not have enough energy to remove electrons from atoms or molecules. In the context of Leonidas, it uses radiofrequency energy to disrupt electronic circuits rather than damaging human tissue or DNA.

Calibre comment: Grasping the nettle

Drones have been a known challenge for some time. An array of systems have been developed to bring them down, but typically focused on either point defence for a base or rolled into part of a short-range air defence solution like the US Army’s IM-SHORAD. However, with multiple state and non-state actors now using a variety of drone types to hold high value assets and formations at risk, NATO countries are being forced to grasp the nettle and invest in their counter-drone capabilities. This means procurement for manoeuvre forces and for homeland defence. Weapons like Leonidas offer a good balance of cost-effectiveness and a minimised potential for collateral damage, whilst also being capable of defeating a lot of different drone types. The adoption should become more widespread, however it is worth noting that many states – especially in Europe – are busily addressing their major deficits of conventional equipment like tanks, first. 

By Sam Cranny-Evans, published on January 28, 2026. The lead image shows the Leonidas high-powered microwave in service with the US Army. Credit: US Army/Staff Sgt. Brandon Rickert.