It happened on August 26, 2025, at Camp Atterbury in Indiana. In front of a select audience, Epirus’ high-power microwave system, Leonidas, took center stage in a live-fire demonstration. The goal? Show that one weapon could handle many threats at once. The result? Sixty-one drones launched. Sixty-one drones disabled. And in one jaw-dropping moment, forty-nine drones fell simultaneously—like marionettes with their strings cut.

This wasn’t just a flashy stunt. It was a proof-of-concept for a future where drone swarms—cheap, fast, and increasingly weaponized—don’t get the upper hand. Drones are small, hard to detect, and easy to deploy in large numbers. That makes them dangerous not just to soldiers, but to civilians, airports, and critical infrastructure. The Leonidas system is designed to meet that challenge head-on, using directed energy to fry drone electronics mid-flight.

Epirus’ Leonidas system mounted on a tactical vehicle during the live-fire demonstration at Camp Atterbury, Indiana. The high-power microwave weapon disabled 61 drones in a single session, showcasing its battlefield readiness. → (Image: Epirus Inc.)


Think of it like a bug zapper for the sky—but smarter. Leonidas doesn’t just blast microwaves indiscriminately. It uses software-defined waveforms to target specific threats, avoid friendly units, and even create safe corridors in no-fly zones. It’s mobile, durable, and twice as powerful as its 2022 predecessor. And unlike older systems that relied on bulky magnetron tubes, Leonidas uses Gallium Nitride semiconductors—making it lighter, more efficient, and easier to deploy.

The technology is named after the Spartan king who famously held off a massive Persian army with a tiny force. That metaphor isn’t lost on Epirus CEO Andy Lowery, who called the demo “a watershed moment” and emphasized Leonidas’ “one-to-many” capability as the key to countering modern drone warfare. “Those who joined us witnessed this first-hand as 61 drones went up—and 61 went down,” Lowery said.

But this isn’t just military theater. It’s a glimpse into how electromagnetic weapons could reshape defense strategies, public safety, and even airspace regulation. As drones become more accessible to hobbyists, activists, and bad actors alike, the need for scalable, non-lethal countermeasures grows. Leonidas offers a way to neutralize threats without bullets, missiles, or collateral damage.

For communities near airports, military bases, or sensitive infrastructure, this matters now. It’s not hard to imagine a future where systems like Leonidas are deployed to protect concerts, sporting events, or even city centers from rogue drones. And for defense planners, it’s a signal that the age of kinetic-only warfare is fading. Energy weapons are stepping into the spotlight.

What comes next? Watch for how Epirus scales this tech—whether it moves from armored vehicles to fixed installations or even portable units. And keep an eye on how governments respond. Will microwave defense become standard in urban security plans? Will civilian drone use face tighter restrictions?

One thing’s clear: the skies are changing. And Leonidas just showed us how to take control of them. 

Epirus engineers monitor the Leonidas system’s performance during the August 2025 test. The team used software-defined waveforms to precisely target threats without harming nearby assets.
Source: Epirus