Army gets four drone zappers in rush to defend troops

• The Epirus system, dubbed Leonidas, pumps out powerful waves of energy that overwhelm electronics and send smaller aircraft plummeting to the ground.
• The company's tech can be installed on manned and unmanned machinery, including on the back of a Stryker combat vehicle or on the belly of a drone.

Between the lines: The U.S. military has for decades sought practical directed-energy tools. Widespread adoption has yet to arrive.

• The Pentagon is spending an average $1 billion annually on directed-energy development, according to a federal watchdog report.
• More than 30 directed-energy initiatives are underway across the military right now. At least nine are tied to the Army.
• Navy leaders lamented a lack of powerful lasers and microwaves in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, where Yemen-based Houthi rebels are harassing military and commercial vessels.

Zoom in: Epirus delivered its first Indirect Fire Protection Capability-High-Power Microwave prototype, or IFPC-HPM, in November 2023. Three more were handed over by March.

• The Army's IFPC endeavor aims to shield sites from incoming drones, rockets, artillery, mortars and cruise missiles.
• Soldier training and engineering assessments showed the viability of high-power microwave against drones and larger swarms, according to Andy Lowery, the chief executive at Epirus.

What's next: Data collected during the preliminary tests will shape funding and deployment decisions down the road.