WASHINGTON — General Dynamics Land Systems and venture capital-backed startup Epirus have teamed up to integrate a counter-drone swarm system on combat vehicles, according to an Oct. 25 Epirus statement.
The strategic teaming agreement sets up a collaboration to integrate Epirus’ Leonidas directed energy system and broader high-power microwave technology into the GDLS-manufactured U.S. Army Stryker combat vehicle and other manned and unmanned ground combat vehicles to provide Short-Range Air Defense (SHORAD) capabilities, the statement said.
The Army recently fielded its first platoon of Stryker-based SHORAD systems to Europe. This summer, the service chose a team with Raytheon Technologies as the laser module provider to supply four SHORAD 50-kilowatt-class directed energy-capable Strykers.
But the Leonidas system integrated on a Stryker is meant to address drone swarms, not just singular drone threats, a rising problem for the U.S. military as it develops counter-unmanned aircraft systems capability.
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We always assume that super secret war machines are being developed to protect us from what will obviously be technology used against us. Protection from drones and hypersonic weapons are just some of the issues we hope are being researched. Reassuring to see that at least some of those assumptions are reality.