U.S. Army Links Leonidas Microwave Weapon to Combat Network for Coordinated Counter-Drone Defense.

The U.S. Army integrated Epirus’ Leonidas high-power microwave counter-drone weapon into a broader command-and-control environment during Operation Jailbreak Falcon Fury, connecting it to a defensive chain combining multiple sensors, command software and interception systems. The integration moves Leonidas toward networked counter-UAS operations in which the microwave weapon can function alongside other components rather than as an isolated effector.

The integration places Leonidas within a shared command-and-control architecture designed to link detection and engagement capabilities against unmanned aerial systems. By connecting the high-power microwave weapon with multiple sensors, software and interception systems, the U.S. Army is developing a coordinated counter-drone chain in which Leonidas can operate as one of several available effectors.

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Epirus’ Leonidas high-power microwave counter-drone system during U.S. government testing. The U.S. Army is integrating the weapon into a broader command-and-control network for coordinated drone defense. (Picture source: Epirus)

The relevance of this development lies in moving from a system capable of defeating drones independently to an effector integrated into a wider sensor-to-effector architecture. Tracks generated by external sensors can be processed at the command level before an appropriate effector is selected. Leonidas can then complement missiles, guns, jammers or other directed-energy systems depending on the type and density of the threat.

Epirus announced the integration on October 3, 2026, as part of Operation Jailbreak Falcon Fury. The U.S. Army describes Operation Jailbreak as a series of campaigns conducted with industry to connect military technologies that had previously operated within separate architectures. The first event at Fort Carson brought together more than 50 companies and around 600 participants, with initial emphasis on counter-drone operations and integrated air and missile defense.

Leonidas is based on a high-power microwave weapon designed to disrupt or disable electronic components in unmanned systems. Unlike a missile or gun projectile that must physically strike a target, the system directs electromagnetic energy toward a designated area to affect onboard electronics. This approach can be used against multiple drones within the same area of effect, addressing the challenge posed by groups or swarms of relatively low-cost aircraft.

The Leonidas architecture uses gallium nitride, or GaN, power electronics, a technology employed in radio-frequency applications requiring high power density. Epirus has also designed the system around a largely software-defined architecture, allowing waveforms and some emission parameters to be modified without rebuilding the hardware. This is intended to support faster adaptation as drone control, communications and navigation systems evolve. Publicly available information does not provide a precise operational range for Leonidas.

The U.S. Army has already selected Epirus under the Indirect Fire Protection Capability High-Power Microwave program, known as IFPC-HPM. The system was used during Exercise Balikatan 2025 in the Philippines by the 1st Multi-Domain Task Force alongside the Fixed Site Low Slow Small Unmanned Aerial System Integrated Defeat System. In that configuration, electro-optical and infrared sensors supported drone detection and identification before defeat systems were employed. The Army has described IFPC-HPM as a capability intended in particular to counter groups and swarms of unmanned aerial systems.

The demonstration conducted during Operation Jailbreak focused more directly on how this effector can be inserted into a common combat architecture. A counter-drone engagement involves several successive steps, from detection and identification to the engagement decision. Connecting Leonidas to a shared C2 environment allows the sensor to be separated from the effector, so that a track generated elsewhere in the network can be passed to the weapon without relying only on sensors directly associated with the system.

This architecture gives commanders more options for allocating engagements. A surface-to-air missile can be reserved for a faster or more distant target, while a gun may be used against an individual threat at shorter range. A high-power microwave weapon adds another option when several drones must be defeated without expending one interceptor for each target. It therefore does not replace other air-defense systems, but adds a non-kinetic effector to a layered defensive architecture.

This approach also aligns with the U.S. Army’s Right to Integrate strategy, which seeks to connect equipment from different suppliers more easily through open interfaces. The service aims to reduce the number of systems operating within isolated proprietary architectures and simplify the introduction of new sensors, software and effectors without rebuilding the entire command chain. Operation Jailbreak is intended to test this type of integration on shorter timelines than traditional acquisition programs.

The integration of Leonidas comes as U.S. forces adapt air-defense concepts to attacks involving increasing numbers of low-cost drones. Recent conflicts have highlighted the economic limits of relying primarily on interceptor missiles against aircraft produced at a fraction of their cost. By integrating a microwave weapon into an open C2 architecture, the U.S. Army is seeking to combine kinetic and non-kinetic responses within the same defensive chain. For the United States and its allies, this approach could help preserve missile inventories for threats that require them while adding another response option against mass drone attacks.

Written By Erwan Halna du Fretay - Defense Analyst, Army Recognition Group
Erwan Halna du Fretay holds a Master’s degree in International Relations and has experience studying conflicts and global arms transfers. His research interests include security and strategic studies, particularly the dynamics of the defense industry, the evolution of military technologies, and the strategic transformation of armed forces.