US Marines Receive Microwave Drone-Killer System for Testing

The following piece, written by Jim Morris, first appeared on Warrior Maven, a Military Content Group member website.

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The US Marine Corps is getting a version of the counter-drone technology delivered to the US Army five years ago, a move that comes in the wake of attacks on ships in the Red Sea from unmanned surface vessels and aerial drones operated by Houthi rebels.

Los Angeles-based Epirus announced this week it has delivered the Expeditionary Directed Counter-Swarm (ExDECS) system to the Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren in Virginia. ExDECS is derived from the company’s Leonidas Expeditionary system and uses high-power microwaves to counter drone attacks.

“Drone warfare is changing the fight – fast. Systems like ExDECS give Marines a decisive advantage by neutralizing multiple electronic threats at once with a single system – what we call a one-to-many capability,” said Epirus CEO Andy Lowery. “This delivery is a critical step toward fielding non-kinetic counter-swarm solutions that enhance the mobility, survivability, and lethality of our Marine forces.”

The Marines will test the system to see how high-power microwaves fit in with their Low Altitude Air Defense mission and Ground Based Air Defense capabilities.

Several years ago, General Dynamics teamed with Epirus to equip a Stryker with a Leonidas system, allowing troops to jam, disable, or destroy enemy drones. Last year, Lowery told Breaking News that the technology has the ability to neutralize hostile assets without harming humans.

Defense experts point out that eventually, the swarms of drones that have become common over the battlefield will grow large enough to overwhelm traditional defense. Meanwhile, artificial intelligence will allow them to operate on their own.

That’s where high-power microwaves (HPMs) may come in. Along with laser weapons, they are part of what the Pentagon refers to as directed technologies. They’re designed to disrupt a target’s electronic components. Scientific American explained their power this way – an HPM is 150,000 times more powerful than a common kitchen microwave oven.

Lockheed Martin has developed its own HPM system called Morfius. It’s a reusable, tube-launched drone that has an onboard seeker and a compact HPM designed to take out complex swarms of drones. It fits inside a six-inch diameter tube and weighs less than 30 pounds.

One question about aerial laser weapons and HPMs has to do with the power source – if Morfius units are designed, as Lockheed says, to deliver up to a gigawatt of microwave energy, how can they carry enough battery? All Lockheed says is that the power comparison to ground systems is favorable.