Epirus

Epirus is a US defence technology company specialising in high-power microwave (HPM) directed-energy systems for counter-drone and electronic warfare applications. On 23 June 2026 Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and Under Secretary for R&E Emil Michael watched Epirus's Leonidas IFPC-HPM system fire live at White Sands Missile Range alongside four laser systems, the first time a sitting US defence secretary has attended a directed-energy live-fire demonstration. Its flagship product has progressed through several generations from truck-mounted to vehicle-integrated form; at the AUSA Global Force conference in Huntsville, Alabama in March 2026, Epirus unveiled the Leonidas AGV, an autonomous ground vehicle variant developed with General Dynamics as platform integrator and Kodiak Robotics providing autonomous driving.

Epirus was founded in 2018 and has raised over $250 million in venture and strategic funding. Unlike laser-based systems, Leonidas uses microwave energy to simultaneously defeat multiple targets in a wide beam pattern, providing area denial against drone swarms rather than single-point intercept. This distinguishes it from the laser weapons at the same White Sands demonstration, AeroVironment's AMP-HEL, nLight's DE-M-SHORAD, and Lockheed Martin's IFPC-HEL Valkyrie, which must dwell on individual targets. Hegseth signalled plans to procure "tens to hundreds" of directed-energy weapons in coming years, with the FY2027 budget carrying more than $2 billion for directed-energy R&D.

The company competes directly in the US Army E-HEL (Enduring High Energy Laser) competition, which the Army plans to field across 24 systems over five years from late 2027, alongside Raytheon, L3Harris, and others. The Pentagon's Golden Dome programme allocates $452 million to directed energy, triple the prior year, and a separate joint Army-Navy Joint Laser Weapon System programme commits $676 million over five years. The Leonidas AGV's autonomous mobility positions Epirus in the emerging market for uncrewed counter-drone platforms that can operate within contested environments without exposing operators.