Army’s new $43 million deal builds on vision for microwave weapons to thwart drones
By JOHN VANDIVER STARS AND STRIPES •
July 24, 2025 U.S. soldiers test microwave counter-drone devices April 30, 2025, during an exercise at Naval Station Leovigildo Gantioqui, Philippines. The system's creator, Epirus, signed a $43.5 million deal with the Army to develop a second-generation version expected to more than double the range, according to a statement July 17, 2025. (Brandon Rickert/U.S. Army)
A recently awarded Army contract aims to provide more weapons that use high-powered microwaves to help soldiers take down drone swarms in one swoop. Los Angeles-based technology company Epirus will develop a microwave platform that is expected to more than double the range and power of a similar system currently being experimented with, the company said in a statement last week. Microwave technology that the company pioneered can deliver a pulse to zap a drone’s electronics in midair. The new $43.5 million deal with the Army is directed toward work on a second generation of the company’s microwave platform.
“Drones are everywhere,” Epirus CEO Andy Lowery said in the July 17 statement. “We’ve seen drone incursions over U.S. bases, incursions over our southern border. And swarm attacks are defining overseas conflicts.”
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https://www.stripes.com/branches/army/2025-07-24/army-microwave-weapons-counter-drone-18539065.htmlSource - Stars and Stripes
