A microwave weapon that can be carried by a drone is powerful enough to shoot down other drones and can also knock out other electronic devices.
The Leonidas Pod, produced by start-up Epirus based in Los Angeles, generates a beam of microwaves to overload a target鈥檚 electronics, causing drones to drop out of the sky, but doesn鈥檛 affect people.
Other counter-drone microwave weapons are based on magnetrons, the technology found in microwave ovens, and are the size of a shipping container. Instead, Epirus uses compact solid state emitters and last year unveiled a device that can fit on a pickup truck.
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The new device is roughly the size of a microwave oven and weighs less than 24 kilograms, and is shown in a press release being carried by a hexacopter drone.
Lockheed Martin demonstrated a counter-drone microwave weapon on a drone called Morfius last year, which released a single blast of microwaves. Epirus says the Leonidas Pod is multi-shot and its beam can be shaped as needed, firing a broad fan to tackle a swarm of drones, or a narrow beam to pick out a specific target. Its effective range hasn鈥檛 been revealed.
The makers stress that the device doesn鈥檛 affect people, and has been validated as safe by National Technical Systems, an independent testing agency. The output is different to pulsed microwaves, which the US government believes may have caused brain injuries to US diplomatic staff in Cuba and elsewhere, dubbed Havana Syndrome, although this hasn鈥檛 been proven and such weapons may not exist.
鈥淥ur systems do not harm humans and have absolutely no connection to the reports of Havana Syndrome,鈥� an Epirus spokesperson told 快猫短视频.
However, it can put computers, radios and vehicle electronics out of action. 鈥淲e do anticipate the system being used for additional EW [electronic warfare] and counter-electronics missions,鈥� said the spokesperson.
Microwave-armed drones might neutralise targets such as radar, communications and military headquarters in a less destructive alternative to bombs. Such an attack would be silent and leave no forensic traces.
The cost of the system is likely to be a significant factor in how widely it is used. 鈥淧lacing a RF/HPM [radio frequency/high power microwave weapon] on a drone is going to be pretty costly unless breakthroughs in getting energy to the weaponry have been made,鈥� says Robert Bunker at C/O Futures, a US-based security consulting firm.
Bunker suggests that the price will probably confine the system to military units and critical infrastructure defence. Epirus will only say it is more cost-effective than missiles.
According to the company, the Leonidas Pod is intended to provide new defensive capability against small drones, and is likely to be used in combination with ground-based sensors and other weapons in a defensive network.
