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49 birds holding steady at Sparta. This is Leonidas, the world's first and only real-life operational force field, and we're about to see if it can take out a swarm of drones with a single burst of energy. Leonidas firing 5 4 2 1 It feels like everyone these days has a drone. Contrast that to just 5 years ago when owning one of these gave you status as the cool kid on the block. If you see a drone, it's probably made by DJI. Check it out. It's the Air 3S. Today I got to fly the Autel Evo Lite for the very first time. Since 2020, the number of consumer drones worldwide has more than doubled. And with companies like DJI supplying roughly 70% of the world's consumer drone market, getting your hands on this
has never been easier. It's no secret that drones have changed the world we live in. From capturing incredible aerial perspectives to making things like inspection, search and rescue, and filmmaking easier than ever before. But let me ask you a very real, yet very terrifying question. What if these drones were weaponized? Drones are changing warfare, air defense, and civilian You see, the scary thing is that it's already happening. The war in Ukraine has seen thousands of homemade drones used to track enemy forces and bomb targets. And across the Middle East, cheap drones are being used to strike military bases, ships, and vital infrastructure. Why send a fighter jet that costs millions of dollars and
puts the pilot's life at risk when you can send something like this? They're cheap, they're small, and they're incredibly effective. But here's the problem. Stopping them isn't easy. Most drone defenses rely on jamming the signal or shooting the drone down, which works okay against a single drone with a controller. But what happens when that drone becomes a swarm of hundreds or even thousands? A massive attack involving over 400 drones. If you ask leaders inside the US military, a coordinated drone swarm is one of the most serious threats emerging on the battlefield. And the million-dollar question everyone is
asking is how do you stop something like that? Well, a few months ago, I was contacted by a defense company known as Epirus, who believes they have the answer. Their system, called Leonidas, uses high-power microwaves, essentially controlled bursts of energy to knock entire drone swarms out of the sky. Well, later on in this video, I'll be heading out to a US Army test range, where Epirus will be putting Leonidas to the test and attempting to disable a swarm of drones with a single burst of energy. But before we do that, we need to understand how Leonidas actually works. So, to kick things off, we're heading to Los Angeles, California, to visit the Epirus headquarters and see
what their counter-swarm technology is all about. Welcome to Epirus, where we're building the future of defense. Founded in 2018, Epirus entered the counter-drone market as what's known as a neoprime, a new kind of defense company created to stay ahead of the competition and accelerate the shift from the slow development of huge weapon systems to quicker, scalable technology. In 2020, Epirus unveiled Leonidas, their flagship counter-drone system, designed to address the growing threat of swarms and fill a gap in current air defenses that up until this point were largely ineffective at tackling the threat of autonomous drones. But here's the thing.
Leonidas is not a concept or an idea. It's a technology that's ready to be mass-produced today. And since 2023, Epirus has been awarded over $100 million to deliver six HPM systems to the US Army. So, how serious of a threat do drone swarms present? Well, have you seen the news lately? I mean, it's all over in Jersey, in LA, up at the Reagan Forum. These drones are spread everywhere. This is a major threat, not only overseas, but domestically now. So, it's an enormous problem, and it's not a problem that's going away. So, not only is it a big problem, it's a problem that's only going to exponentially grow over the next decade. So, how does the Apertus Leonidas system work? And more importantly, what makes
it so effective against swarms? If you look at inside, if you had x-ray eyes and you looked inside a Leonidas, what you would see is a whole bunch of power storage and power conversion. So, it's what we call high-powered microwave directed energy. Leonidas emits a powerful burst of electromagnetic energy, like a mini EMP, that overwhelms and interferes with the electronics inside the drone, causing it to fail. And how we create the directed energy is we take just regular electrical power, like you'd get from the wall of your house, and we store that power up. We store and store that power up till it gets to such a significant level, and then we convert it all in one big powerful pulse. And we do that many, many thousand times a second. And in
doing that, we can control the beam. We control the beam in which where it's pointed, where it's pointed, how wide it is, how small it is. And that sort of agility allows us to create shields or whole areas or sectors in the sky that can prevent any type of electronic, including drone swarms, from attacking or getting past it. So, let's take Leonidas and high-power microwaves out of the equation for a second. What are the current alternatives to taking out a drone? So, first of all, let's talk about kinetics. Well, good old-fashioned missiles. These are old-fashioned kinetic ways of going after targets. The problem with those, they're very, very expensive. Some of the standard missiles can be as much as a million dollars. So, you're taking a
million-dollar missile and attacking a $10,000 drone with it. But, it's not only the cost equation on the kinetics, it's also the magazine depth. There's only so many missiles a ship can carry. There's only so many missiles that we can load into our Patriot batteries. And so, if we run out of those missiles, then it becomes like open season for the bad actor to come in and start to do damage. The second system is the laser systems, and they take a very small, thin pencil beam of a laser, and they burn a hole or burn damage [clears throat] into a drone or some other target. So, the problem with that is it takes seconds. It takes a long time for that one
laser to hit that one drone and actually do damage. So, they're dwelling on that for several seconds at a time. If you look at jammers, jammers are sort of a one-to-many or can be a one-to-many type of system. But, the jammers that are being fielded today against drones are very, very sub-par. They don't have sophistication. They don't have what they need to do in order to combat things like encryption, and certainly they won't work at all against autonomy. If you pull back the cover on Leonidas and take a look inside, you'll find an array of these silver rectangular blocks called L RAMs, or line-replaceable amplifier modules. These modules are what produce the high-power microwave
directed energy. In other words, they're the crown jewel for what makes Leonidas so effective. Now, from what I've picked up, Epirus is pretty tight-lipped when it comes to discussing this technology, and it's pretty secretive. But, they did agree to show me some of the hollowed-out L RAMs, so we can get a sense of the size and scale without revealing too much. So, this is the underlying technology that makes Leonidas work. This is called the L RAM. It's a line-replaceable amplifier module. This is a series of RF amplifiers that takes our signal in, amplifies it, and sends it through the antennas to be transmitted over the air.
Inside of here is a series of circuit boards and amplifiers that makes all that happen. The L RAM is what allows our product to be really modular and scalable, cuz we can take this building block and build bigger or smaller arrays depending on what our customers missions and requirements are. So, as it is, I guess simple as the more of these inside Leonidas, the greater range it has, the wider area, and I guess the more drones that can be taken out of the sky? Exactly. A bigger Leonidas has more of these modules, which means more power and more capability. Since these L-beams are modular and scalable, Epirus has already begun development on additional models of their Leonidas system. They've
begun testing what they call Leonidas expeditionary, designed for the United States Marine Corps to fit on a JLTV. Then there's Leonidas mobile, which can be integrated onto the Army's Stryker vehicle. They even have a super small and lightweight variant known as Leonidas pod, which can be easily transported and even hand-carried to integrate onto any air, land, or sea-based platform. So, we've got the lineup of the different Leonidas systems behind us, but I heard you talk about earlier, drones are just one example of what this can take out, right? I've seen you talk about pretty much any electronic, boats, engines. Where do you see this system expanding in the next 3 to 5 years? This system is much, much,
much more powerful than that. I mean, if you can imagine these robot Leos we were just talking about marching in a formation out ahead of the line, turning left, turning right, knocking out cars, knocking out boats on the sea. So, anything with sophisticated computers and electronics in it, which just is about everything these days, is a major, major target for our system. So, if we take like a airfield or a base as an example, how do you see all these kind of combining together to provide a force field over the entire thing? Is it several of the main Leonidas's all spread out around the base, a couple of these smaller ones, and is that the goal to kind of mean potentially provide a force field over an entire airfield? It is. And where I envision
these systems going is wheels, legs, mobile, right? It's patrolling around the base in constant motion. Maybe six, maybe five systems in each corner moving up and down in some sort of, you know, con ops or some sort of doctrine way. The at sea version, we maybe use a seronic vessel. You see the green one behind me is built for counter vessel. Now you have vessel stop. These systems are going to go everywhere. They're going to go air, they're going to go sea, they're going to go ground, they'll be in space. But the future will see a fully sort of mobile system.
Now our last stop here at the Epirus H Cubes here in the test chamber. Now this is anechoic foam and it's used to eliminate any sound or electromagnetic waves to create a room completely free of any echoes or external noise. That gives the engineers here at Epirus a room that's perfectly controlled to test the effectiveness of Leonidas' high-power microwaves. And I believe right now we're going to have a chance to test that system by taking out a drone ourselves. So a common critique that we get is, oh I can just shield the drone or the target and your system is ineffective. And that's not really how it works. The idea is that you could create a metal layer of copper tape around the outside
of the drone to prevent our energy from getting inside. It doesn't really work for two reasons. The first is you can't create a perfect Faraday cage around the outside of the drone in a way that stops all of our energy from getting in. You have to have room for the motors, for the sensors, for the other parts of the drone. You can't create perfect metal layer around the outside of the drone. And the second is if you put copper tape on the outside of the drone, you can actually create a resonant cavity where if any of our energy gets in, it bounces off the inside of that copper tape and makes our effect more pronounced. Makes our system more effective. And so we've done a lot of copper tape experiments to see how
that effect shapes out. So now we're going to give you the opportunity to wrap a drone in copper tape and see what effect that has. Let's do it. So, if see where this prop spins. So, anything above that line kind of has to be meters away. Got you. So, this one's got the black circle. So, you've got the two drones here, the one I just wrapped in copper next to one that's free of copper. And we're going to see the difference in flight, right? To see if the one in copper can even fly with all of that on. So, this is them being armed. All right. See this guy lifts up. You see this guy is going to stay right in place, and our pilot's going to have to be constantly monitoring this guy.
Cuz he's going to be drifting all around. If he walks away, that guy's going to crash into something. This one's perfectly still. This one you can see it's changing, it's moving every which way. Is that cuz of the heavy weight of the copper? Yeah. Uh yeah, so it's more of just a signal degradation. Signal, yeah. So, the fact that he doesn't have any of his collision avoidance sensors, the camera's covered up. Uh even the signal from the remote control's going to be coming in a lot lower power. Sure. So, it's like, yeah, sure, you can wrap it in copper and kind of reduce the effect of the HPMs, but if you do it, you pretty much make the thing unflyable.
Right. So, now we're stepping inside one of our smaller chambers, which allows us to test individual targets. So, we have the drone here that you covered in copper tape. This is it. We have it tied down to the bench so it doesn't fly away while we're shooting it. Uh but we're going to use a smaller scale down version of Leonidas to irradiate it and see what happens. So, you see the props on the drone spinning? Yep. Uh the test is ready to go. The system is energized. As soon as you press enter, the system will fire, and we can see what can happen. Okay. Here we go. In 3 2 1.
Boom. Nice. So, there we go. So, in real life, if it weren't tied down, that would fall out of the ground, and that's what would kind of disable it, and it's wrapped in copper. After putting a drone through different testing scenarios, we were able to debunk two of the biggest critiques surrounding high-power microwave systems. First, the idea that simply hardening a drone with metal or wrapping it in copper can protect it. In reality, doing that actually limits the drone's functionality by adding weight and interfering with its systems, making it much more difficult to fly. And second, even with an added copper protective layer, the Leonidas system was still able to take it out. But even
with all of that, I know what you're thinking. This was just a single drone. And the real question we all want to answer is what happens when there's 50 or even 100 drones all flying together in a swarm. We are here at Camp Atterbury just outside Indianapolis for the event Epirus is calling Operation Leonidas. And I'm not here alone. Many of the top government and military officials from around the world are in attendance today to see if Leonidas can back up its claim of being the most effective counter-swarm solution in the world. So, thank you very much, everyone. Thank you for all for your attendance. Thank you all for your patience and your willingness to see
what Epirus is able to do. Zeus to all stations, initiate com check. Aim, I'm coming in clear. Can you hear me, Zeus? Yep, I got you. LZ1 and LZ2, let's prep for runner show once we get that down bird back home. Time to beat for full show is 34 minutes. So, today you're going to see four different representative scenarios and how Leonidas engages those scenarios. For the first scenario you'll see today is going to be a 3x3 swarm. You'll have a group of three that will enter the kill box while another one is lingering outside of the kill box. At that particular point, we'll engage that
first group of three drones, down those, and then quickly reacquire and contain a lock on the second three drones as they're progressing into the actual kill zone. We'll down those and then be able to verify with our sensor that all drones have been mitigated. Scenario number two is very representative target discernment. We'll have two drones in the air very close to each other and it's our ability to discern between a friendly drone and a threat representative drone. It shows Leo's ability to engage one without harming the other and in today's scenario we actually decide to engage the second drone to be able to put both birds on the ground. With scenario number three, you'll see one drone that will be tracked at range.
It allows our sensor to be able to identify, pick up the track and lock as it's beginning to progress into the range that we're on. As it continues to move, it allows us to then figure out the actual time that we should engage and mitigate that drone as it's falling into a safe landing area. Moving on to scenario number four, it shows Leo's ability to engage multiple targets at multiple ranges simultaneously. You'll see three representative targets that will be at multiple ranges and showing that Leo's ability to not only just fire and take out the first one, but every single one that was instilled that being leaf at multiple ranges. And finally, we have the swarm.
The swarm is representative of the battle space of today. You'll see 49 drones take off, proceed to the engagement area where Leo then track, lock, and engage all 49 drones simultaneously resulting in a 49 kill mitigation. So, there's a lot of VIPs, a lot of bold claims made, a ton on the line for your company and the work you've put in. How you feeling? Well, I'll tell you, I was feeling a little nervous pulling up and then I went out and I checked with Leonidas and she said, "No problem. We're going to make this easy for you." So, because I have such a steady kind of sure thing to rely
on in my back, she has my six. I think I'm going to be fine. So, I got here and now I'm feeling very, very cool, very, very calm. We're going to just shoot down a whole bunch of drones. Let's do it. Can't wait to watch. Can't wait. Cronus, you are clear to proceed with flight card one. All stations, we are going hot from LZ1. Range in LZ1 are hot. Get your lids on. Camera crew, be advised we are radiating on this one. This is going to be a live fire. Leonidas, you are clear to engage.
Weapons hot. Copy. Clear engage. Weapons hot. Leonidas, firing in 5 4 1 Firing. Down. Cronus, you are clear to proceed. Group 2. At your command. Leonidas, firing in 5 3 2 1 Firing. Down. Confirm pre-burst down. Okay, off to a good start in scenario one, hostile versus friendly, in what looked like a pretty easy neutralization for Leonidas. So, you didn't see it there, but Leonidas is also able to swivel almost 360° all the way around, which Epirus says is what allows the system to protect such a wide range of aerial threats. Cronus, you are clear to proceed with flight card two.
Clear to Sparta. Confirm. Acknowledged. Leonidas, firing in 5 1 Firing. Down. Leonidas, you are clear to engage left target. Weapons hot. Down. So, this next scenario is actually a pretty interesting one. Intercept and termination within a safety cleared zone. A big priority for Epirus and its potential customers is minimizing collateral damage. And that means being able to control where and over what area the drones are able to be disabled. Zeus to Kronos, cleared to proceed with launch for flight cards three and four. Hoplight.
One bird en route. Leonidas, you are cleared to acquire ABT lock and weapons hot. Three, two, one. Firing. Now. Kronos, you are cleared to proceed with flight card four. Three birds airborne. Leonidas, firing in five, four, three, two, one. Firing. Now. Confirm. Three birds down. It's now time for the final scenario. And this is the one Epirus has been saving for last. It's meant to showcase Leonidas's one-to-many mindset. A single pulse of energy taking out an entire swarm of drones. So, they're about to launch, I think 49 drones all at once. If everything goes according to plan, they should fall out of the sky simultaneously.
Kronos, you have hoplight for drone swarm. On your command. Group one, five birds airborne. Five birds en route to Sparta. Group two, five birds are airborne. Five birds en route to Sparta. Group three, five birds are airborne. Five birds en route to Sparta. Group four, five birds airborne. Group five, five birds are airborne. That's 20 birds en route to Sparta from group six, group seven, group eight, group nine, group 10, group 11.
49 birds holding steady at Sparta. Leonidas, please confirm. ABT lock. Leonidas, you are clear to engage. Weapons hot. Leonidas, firing in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. 49 in the air, 49 on the ground now. So, I feel like we've talked about it for so long. It was hyped. We finally saw it. It's pretty incredible. Uh would you feel like you achieved what you wanted to? She delivered on everything, everything, and beyond what I expected her to do today. And the greatest news is it's just the beginning because her older brother, the second generation Leonidas, is being built as we stand here speaking. So, as impressive as she was, the [snorts]
next generation is only going to be that much more impressive. So, I couldn't be more excited. So, after seeing Leonidas in action and learning how the system works, it's impressive. But, the reality is the threat of drone swarms is only growing. Something like this can be bought online and flown straight out of the box and with a few modifications can be turned into a weapon. And when one drone becomes dozens or hundreds or thousands, that's where the real challenge begins. Leonidas is Epirus' answer to that question. Will it hold up to the ever-changing demands of the modern battle space? Well, Epirus certainly thinks so. But if there's one thing that's clear, drone swarms are no longer a future threat. They're already here.
