Epirus Wins Additional $250M Funding for Leonidas High-Power Microwave Weapon

Epirus has secured an additional $250 million in funding for its revolutionary Leonidas high-power microwave weapon program.

The company announced Wednesday that the new investment will enable it to scale up production to meet the growing global demand for directed-energy defense systems.

It will also enable Epirus to significantly expand its workforce, enhance supply chain resilience, and upgrade internal systems and processes related to manufacturing Leonidas.

Additionally, the funding will allow the company to expand its manufacturing footprint in the US while furthering its efforts to broaden its market reach.

“With our capital and talent and the right partnerships with US DoD to continue to advance Epirus’ technology, [Leonidas] will quickly become critical for defending aircraft, ships and even satellites and space-based platforms — and determinative for the future of warfare,” Epirus founder Joe Lonsdale stated.

Shift to ‘1 to Many’ Mindset

Leonidas is a ground-based, directed-energy weapon designed to unleash a potent electromagnetic pulse that disrupts the electronic systems of unmanned aerial vehicles.

The system has already demonstrated effectiveness in countering drone swarms, as it covers a wide area with a broad beam.

According to Epirus, the Leonidas program is designed to help militaries transition from a traditional “1-to-1” defense model to a more scalable “1-to-many” approach.

“Today’s battlefields are littered with thousands of low-cost, highly networked, and highly distributed threats, capable of overwhelming traditional defenses through sheer volume and agility,” the company stated.

“This shift in warfare necessitates technologies that are scalable and easily upgraded to fit a range of use cases, effective against a spectrum of threats, and capable of processing many threats simultaneously by a single operator.”

In 2022, Epirus partnered with General Dynamics to integrate the Leonidas microwave weapon onto Stryker armored fighting vehicles.