U.S Epirus and General Dynamics to unveil Leonidas unmanned counter-drone system in Washington
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Epirus and General Dynamics Land Systems have debuted the Leonidas Autonomous Robotic (AR) system, combining a high-power microwave weapon with a tracked robotic vehicle for mobile counter-drone defense. The new platform reflects the U.S. Army’s drive for autonomous, low-cost solutions to defeat growing drone threats on modern battlefields.
Epirus and General Dynamics Land Systems are about to present Leonidas Autonomous Robotic, a tracked, unmanned counter-UAS system pairing Epirus’ Leonidas high-power microwave with GDLS’s TRX robotic ground vehicle. The debut will come with a trade-show reveal at AUSA in Washington, positioning a purpose-built, mobile directed-energy effector against the swelling drone threat. Leonidas disables electronics with weaponized electromagnetic interference, offering a one-to-many engagement profile that promises to knock down swarms in a single pulse, while TRX supplies off-road speed, range and power for operations alongside maneuver forces.Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link
Leonidas Autonomous Robotic integrates Epirus’ high-power microwave weapon onto GDLS’s TRX unmanned tracked vehicle, delivering a mobile counter-UAS platform capable of disabling drone swarms with electromagnetic pulses while operating autonomously alongside maneuver forces (Picture source: Epirus).
At the subsystem level, Leonidas is software-defined, allowing operators to notch out protected bands, shape waveforms, and create geofenced safe zones for low-collateral effects. That matters on cluttered battlefields where friendly emitters, civilian infrastructure and non-cooperative spectrum users collide. The HPM architecture is modular and scalable, with Epirus’ latest generation built to boost range and lethality over the 2022 baseline while retaining a compact form factor. In live-fire trials at Camp Atterbury, the company reports Leonidas defeated 61 of 61 targets, including a finale that dropped a 49-drone swarm with a single pulse of energy.
The carrier vehicle is equally central to the concept. TRX, a member of the Army’s Robotic Combat Vehicle family, brings a hybrid-electric propulsion system, autonomy kit, and payload headroom sized for short-range air defense payloads. In Leonidas AR configuration, GDLS notes integrated 360-degree sensing, onboard compute, and a battery system designed for long-duration missions. Epirus lists top speed at 45 miles per hour with more than 300 miles of range, and emphasizes remote or autonomous control to keep air defenders out of the kill zone. A wheeled variant is also in development to meet different mobility profiles.
The tactical promise is straightforward: a mobile, low-collateral, magazine-depth effector that can maneuver with brigades and protect flanks, logistics nodes and command posts without expending interceptors. By marrying HPM’s broad-area electronic defeat to a survivable unmanned chassis, Leonidas AR has the potential to fill the gap between static hard-site defenses and kinetically focused SHORAD systems. The system’s one-to-many effect, if replicated outside controlled demonstrations, would let commanders re-balance shot doctrine against swarms and force adversary UAS operators to spend more to achieve the same mass. Software-tunable waveforms and frequency excision aim to reduce fratricide in the electromagnetic spectrum, a persistent concern when friendly drones and radios crowd the air.
The rollout also anchors Epirus’ recent production and test cadence. In July, the U.S. Army’s RCCTO awarded a $43.5 million contract for IFPC-HPM Generation II systems, with Epirus stating the increment will more than double effective range and raise power roughly 30 percent over Generation I, while adding longer pulse widths and high-duty burst modes for faster multi-target engagements. Those features align with the maneuver-protection mission Leonidas AR targets and demonstrate how the firm is iterating toward fieldable capability as the Army refines its counter-UAS roadmap.
The timing fits the Army Transformation Initiative’s push to harden formations against ubiquitous drones, as seen in Ukraine and across the Middle East, while keeping costs and logistics manageable. GDLS executives frame the TRX Leonidas as an internally funded response to that demand signal, with an AUSA showcase intended to draw service and allied interest. Pairing a “neo-prime” directed-energy developer with an established ground-vehicle prime also telegraphs how industry plans to compress integration timelines to meet operational urgency.
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Epirus and General Dynamics Land Systems have debuted the Leonidas Autonomous Robotic (AR) system, combining a high-power microwave weapon with a tracked robotic vehicle for mobile counter-drone defense. The new platform reflects the U.S. Army’s drive for autonomous, low-cost solutions to defeat growing drone threats on modern battlefields.
Epirus and General Dynamics Land Systems are about to present Leonidas Autonomous Robotic, a tracked, unmanned counter-UAS system pairing Epirus’ Leonidas high-power microwave with GDLS’s TRX robotic ground vehicle. The debut will come with a trade-show reveal at AUSA in Washington, positioning a purpose-built, mobile directed-energy effector against the swelling drone threat. Leonidas disables electronics with weaponized electromagnetic interference, offering a one-to-many engagement profile that promises to knock down swarms in a single pulse, while TRX supplies off-road speed, range and power for operations alongside maneuver forces.
Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link
Leonidas Autonomous Robotic integrates Epirus’ high-power microwave weapon onto GDLS’s TRX unmanned tracked vehicle, delivering a mobile counter-UAS platform capable of disabling drone swarms with electromagnetic pulses while operating autonomously alongside maneuver forces (Picture source: Epirus).
At the subsystem level, Leonidas is software-defined, allowing operators to notch out protected bands, shape waveforms, and create geofenced safe zones for low-collateral effects. That matters on cluttered battlefields where friendly emitters, civilian infrastructure and non-cooperative spectrum users collide. The HPM architecture is modular and scalable, with Epirus’ latest generation built to boost range and lethality over the 2022 baseline while retaining a compact form factor. In live-fire trials at Camp Atterbury, the company reports Leonidas defeated 61 of 61 targets, including a finale that dropped a 49-drone swarm with a single pulse of energy.
The carrier vehicle is equally central to the concept. TRX, a member of the Army’s Robotic Combat Vehicle family, brings a hybrid-electric propulsion system, autonomy kit, and payload headroom sized for short-range air defense payloads. In Leonidas AR configuration, GDLS notes integrated 360-degree sensing, onboard compute, and a battery system designed for long-duration missions. Epirus lists top speed at 45 miles per hour with more than 300 miles of range, and emphasizes remote or autonomous control to keep air defenders out of the kill zone. A wheeled variant is also in development to meet different mobility profiles.
The tactical promise is straightforward: a mobile, low-collateral, magazine-depth effector that can maneuver with brigades and protect flanks, logistics nodes and command posts without expending interceptors. By marrying HPM’s broad-area electronic defeat to a survivable unmanned chassis, Leonidas AR has the potential to fill the gap between static hard-site defenses and kinetically focused SHORAD systems. The system’s one-to-many effect, if replicated outside controlled demonstrations, would let commanders re-balance shot doctrine against swarms and force adversary UAS operators to spend more to achieve the same mass. Software-tunable waveforms and frequency excision aim to reduce fratricide in the electromagnetic spectrum, a persistent concern when friendly drones and radios crowd the air.
The rollout also anchors Epirus’ recent production and test cadence. In July, the U.S. Army’s RCCTO awarded a $43.5 million contract for IFPC-HPM Generation II systems, with Epirus stating the increment will more than double effective range and raise power roughly 30 percent over Generation I, while adding longer pulse widths and high-duty burst modes for faster multi-target engagements. Those features align with the maneuver-protection mission Leonidas AR targets and demonstrate how the firm is iterating toward fieldable capability as the Army refines its counter-UAS roadmap.
The timing fits the Army Transformation Initiative’s push to harden formations against ubiquitous drones, as seen in Ukraine and across the Middle East, while keeping costs and logistics manageable. GDLS executives frame the TRX Leonidas as an internally funded response to that demand signal, with an AUSA showcase intended to draw service and allied interest. Pairing a “neo-prime” directed-energy developer with an established ground-vehicle prime also telegraphs how industry plans to compress integration timelines to meet operational urgency.
