Despite the fact that the American Epirus has been actively testing its Leonidas anti-drone electromagnetic system for more than three years, it is still not ready for full-fledged army tests.
As the head of the Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office (RCCTO) of the US Ground Forces, Robert Rush, told Breaking Defense, the finalization of the system, which is being created under the Indirect Fire Protection Capability-High-Power Microwave (IFPC-HPM) project, continues. And this is taking into account the fact that four prototypes have already been transferred to the American army.
Currently, the military has decided to make adjustments to the weapons management capabilities. Their essence is not disclosed, but it’s related to the general control system and sensor features.
The terms of the field deployment of the system prototype were also announced – 6-9 months. And according to the preliminary plan, the Leonidas sample will be sent to the Middle East, where the system itself is expected to debut.
It is worth adding that it is there that the US Army is actively testing its other developments in this area, such as the Stryker with combat lasers as of March 2024 were deployed in Iraq. Let's add that these tests ended not very positively and impressively.
We note that the purpose of Leonidas is to burn out electronics with directed radiation in the microwave range. At the same time, it is possible to bypass two problems that accompany laser weapons – the possibility of irradiating only one object and the dependence on “transparency” atmosphere That is, such “combat microwaves” can really “overwhelm” a swarm of drones in a certain sector.