This post was republished with permission from Zero Hedge
Drones have quickly become all the rage among military leaders and Silicon Valley investors, but new weaponry could threaten the nascent technology’s swift rise.
Last Tuesday, defense contractor Epirus quietly tested its latest electromagnetic weapon, Leonidas, against a swarm of 49 quadcopters, neutralizing them in seconds at Camp Atterbury, Indiana, according to Axios, the only news outlet invited to the groundbreaking test.
Numerous U.S. military services and foreign allies, including Indo-Pacific partners, witnessed the event. In an interview with Axios, Epirus CEO Andy Lowery hailed the “forcefield system” as a “singularity event.”
The test by Epirus comes as the U.S. military is aggressively advancing its drone capabilities to maintain air superiority in an era of rapidly evolving unmanned systems, spurred by lessons from conflicts like Ukraine’s use of commercial drones against Russia.
The Pentagon’s recent policy shift, announced in July by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, reclassifies small drones (Group 1 and 2, under 55 pounds) as consumables akin to ammunition, empowering lower-level commanders to procure and deploy them swiftly, bypassing cumbersome bureaucratic processes.
The move, which is part of Hegseth’s “Unleashing U.S. Military Drone Dominance” directive, mandates that every U.S. military squad, prioritizing Indo-Pacific units, integrate U.S.-made drones by 2026.
WATCH: @SecDef Pete Hegseth signs a memo – delivered by drone – to fast-track production and deployment pic.twitter.com/LHgP60BNA5
— FOX & Friends (@foxandfriends) July 11, 2025
Namely, Hegseth’s policy aims to accelerate acquisition through colonel- and captain-led procurement, AI-driven “Blue List” component sourcing, and dedicated drone testing ranges by 2027.
However, the success of systems like Leonidas signals that as the U.S. scales its drone arsenal, it must also prepare for advanced countermeasures that could undermine the effectiveness of these low-cost, agile systems, forcing a strategic balance between offensive drone capabilities against adversaries such as China.
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Any technology released for public knowledge is 3+ decades behind. Optical (actual glass lenses) satellites were discontinued in 1969.
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Presumably the Epirus system will solve the problem of incoming drone attack for the moment, but drone manufacturers will, no doubt, soon come up with a new built-in EMP repellent system too.