‘Star Trek shield’ technology gets $250M boost to knock drone swarms from the sky with high-powered microwave

A new high-powered microwave system that can knock swarms of drones out of the sky at once is going to “touch every aspect of warfare,” according to Epirus founder, Joe Lonsdale. 

“It’s kind of like a Star Trek shield,” Lonsdale, founder of Epirus and a co-founder of fast-rising defense technology company Palantir, explained of its Leonidas counter-drone system. “It’s able to turn them off from very far away.” 

“This is going to touch every aspect of warfare over the next decade,” he told Fox News Digital. “We can knock down some pretty advanced drones.” 

Defense tech startup Epirus secured another $250 million in a Series D funding round, which was announced Wednesday, bringing its total venture funding to over $550 million. 

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Epirus’ Leonidas system is a ground-based, directed energy weapon that fires off an electromagnetic pulse to disable swarms of drones, or it can neutralize precision targets. The company aims to help the military shift away from a “1 to 1 mindset to a ‘1 to many’ way of thinking for short-range defense,” according to CEO Andy Lowery. 

Drone swarms have been a key frontline tactic in the Russia-Ukraine war because most defense systems are designed to take out one unmanned vehicle at a time. Additionally, in the Middle East, the U.S. has been using multimillion-dollar missiles to shoot down Houthi drones that are built for around $2,000 or less. 

“Swarms of drones is where war is going, and currently you have swarms of drones that are very expensive and very difficult to stop,” said Lonsdale. “It’s not just drones, they’re all sorts of different types of uses for this,” he added, predicting that one day the technology might be deployed to freeze up planes in the sky and protect satellites. The technology has already been successful in Defense Department tests on boat motors and other electronics, according to the company.  

“This is just it’s just going to touch every aspect of warfare in the next decade.” 

Rep. Rob Wittman, vice chair of the House Armed Services Committee, warned that the U.S. needs to “run to play catchup” with its adversaries in the counter-UAS space. 

“We are not doing what we need to do,” he told Fox News Digital on the sidelines of the National Security Innovation Base Summit in Washington, D.C. “We have failed miserably at counter-UAS. We do okay in CENTCOM [Central Command], but … in places like Langley Air Force Base, we are not where we need to be.” 

Dozens of drones hovered over Langley for over two weeks in 2023, and lawmakers say they still have not been provided with an explanation. 

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Epirus won a $66 million contract in 2023 to supply its Leonidas to the U.S. Army, and the technology is believed to be  in the testing phase by Central Command, which oversees the Middle East, according to comments that Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George made to Congress last year. 

The rapid rise of unmanned aerial vehicles in war has prompted a defensive race to develop systems to counter them, like high-energy lasers and high-power microwaves. 

“We have a lot of people who are, you know, coming into the [Defense Department]wanting to embrace new technologies,” said Lonsdale. “They’re really excited about this.” 

The defense entrepreneur suggested there is “tons of waste” in the Pentagon that could be repurposed for new technologies.

“There’s a ton of cronyism. We’re seeing tens or even hundreds of billions of dollars you could pull out, depending [on] how aggressive you want to be. And these should be put into cutting-edge technologies that actually deter enemies.”

Epirus was valued at $1.35 billion when it raised $200 million in Series C funding, but the company did not disclose its valuation for this round. 

The California-based company will use the new cash influx to expand into international and commercial markets and expand manufacturing in the U.S. 

The company is also planning to open a new simulation center in Oklahoma to train soldiers in counter-drone warfare.