The future has already arrived: the US Army will receive a new microwave weapon against UAVs

The ExDECS system can destroy a whole swarm of drones with a single shot costing 5 cents, the manufacturer claims.

Marine Corps US infantry will receive a powerful Expeditionary Directed Energy Counter-Swarm (ExDECS) microwave weapon to combat drone swarms, which is the latest version of Epirus' Leonidas weapon system. Forbes writes about it.

The ExDECS system was reportedly developed with the Marine Corps' requirements in mind to combat the rapidly growing UAV threat. In particular, the developers took into account the experience of using drones during the Russian-Ukrainian war.

First generation Leonidas weapon

“Just look at the numbers, and here are the lessons learned from Ukraine. This future, about which we have talked so much, has already arrived today, and we have the technology to protect against it,” — said Epirus CEO Andy Lowery.

As the head of the manufacturing company notes, previously the best solution against drones was considered to be radio-electronic warfare (EW), but now radio-electronic suppression is at best partially effective. Many soldiers in Ukraine carry shotguns to protect themselves from FPV drones, but even the best shooters will have a hard time defending themselves against a simultaneous attack of more than fifty UAVs. The ExDECS system is designed for just such cases.

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ExDECS is reported to be able to destroy both individual drones and large swarms of drones. These weapons have some similarities to laser devices, however, the laser focuses its energy on a small point, while the microwave weapon can emit a wide field of energy that disables all electronics inside the drones.

The manufacturer calls economic efficiency the main advantage of ExDECS. One shot costs only five cents.

As noted in the publication, the previous model of the Epirus energy weapon was “tiny” compared to a similar device of competitors. Thanks to compact solid-state electronics, the ExDECS system has been made even smaller. This is important because the Marines need a lightweight installation that can be towed behind standard vehicles for maximum mobility.

“A solid-state, software-controlled, long-pulse high-power microwave oven — what we're doing at Epirus has demonstrated effectiveness against a spectrum of electronic threats, including targets beyond drones. In theory, anything with an electronic pulse would be vulnerable to the Epirus HPM,” — says Andy Lowery.

According to the publication, the US Marines will receive the first ExDECS system by the end of this year. The weapon will be integrated with the US Marine Corps' aviation command and control system for field experiments and “multi-platform testing in expeditionary scenarios.”