- Epirus released video showing its Leonidas high-power microwave system disabling a fiber-optic guided drone during a December 2025 U.S. government test.
- The company said the demonstration represents the first recorded defeat of a fiber-optic controlled UAS using weaponized electromagnetic interference.
Epirus released video on January 13 showing its Leonidas VehicleKit high-power microwave system disabling a fiber-optic guided unmanned aerial system during a December 2025 live-fire demonstration at a U.S. government testing site.
The company said the demonstration represents the first documented instance of weaponized electromagnetic interference defeating a fiber-optic controlled drone.
According to Epirus, the Leonidas platform delivered a targeted, software-defined electromagnetic pulse to neutralize the drone’s onboard electronics during flight. The company stated that the system induced a complete kill on the aircraft without using kinetic effects or radio-frequency jamming. The demonstration was conducted as part of ongoing government-industry testing of next-generation counter-UAS technologies.
As noted by Epirus, fiber-optic first-person-view drones have become a central threat in contested environments, especially in Ukraine. These systems are connected to their operators via spooled fiber-optic cable and do not rely on radio-frequency links, making them immune to jamming, spoofing or traditional electronic warfare countermeasures. The company said the test was intended to address that operational gap by applying directed electromagnetic energy to the drone’s internal components.
Epirus stated that the Leonidas system uses non-ionizing radiation and employs a software-defined, directional phased-array antenna to focus energy on a precise point in space. The company said the system’s rapid effects allow operators to influence where a disabled drone falls, enabling them to limit collateral damage in populated or sensitive areas.
Fiber-optic FPV drones have been widely documented on the battlefield in Ukraine, where operators use them for reconnaissance and one-way strike missions. Ex-Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov has said that Russian forces now field fiber-optic FPV drones with 31 miles of range and described them as “a very considerable threat to logistics and personnel.” His comments underscore the growing challenge these drones pose to front-line units and supply networks.
A U.S. Army analysis published in August 2025 reached a similar conclusion. The assessment found that fiber-optic FPV drones “pose a significant counter-UAS challenge” and are “extremely difficult to detect and target.” Because the drones are physically tethered to operators through fiber-optic cable, they bypass traditional command-and-control disruption methods and require alternative defeat mechanisms.
Epirus CEO Andy Lowery described the live-fire result as a major step for counter-UAS development. “The proliferation of fiber-optic guided UAS represents a major shift in drone warfare and exposes a growing operational gap for counter-UAS defenses — one that Leonidas is designed to address and close,” he said. Lowery added that the Leonidas platform’s ability to counter this category of drones represents “an important breakthrough in safe, non-kinetic defense against emerging drone tactics.”
The Leonidas VehicleKit is designed as a scalable, high-power microwave module that can be integrated onto various ground platforms. Epirus markets the system as a one-to-many counter-drone solution capable of addressing massed UAS attacks. The company said its architecture supports software updates and rapid reconfiguration against evolving threats, including drones that lack RF links.
The December trial is part of expanding U.S. government testing of directed-energy systems intended to counter unmanned threats ranging from commercially built quadcopters to military-grade reconnaissance drones. The company did not release additional technical data about the demonstration but said the performance aligned with current requirements for non-kinetic counter-UAS capabilities.