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Epirus, General Dynamics Land Systems and Kodiak AI have unveiled the Leonidas autonomous ground vehicle featuring high-power microwave capability to counter uncrewed aerial systems.
The Leonidas high-power microwave platform, using Kodiak Driver autonomous system and General Dynamics Land Systems’ (GDLS) system integration expertise, is expected to deliver a mobile, autonomous counter-uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) capability. A full-scale Leonidas AGV prototype was recently displayed at the AUSA Global Force Symposium and Exposition in Huntsville, Alabama.
The mobile counter-UAS capability can reportedly be operated without human intervention or teleoperated to extend the counter-UAS line of defence across fixed site and expeditionary mission sets.
“Saturation drone attacks demand a fundamentally different approach to defence,” Epirus chief executive officer Andy Lowery said.
“Leonidas AGV combines autonomous mobility with high-power microwave effects to deliver a counter-UAS capability that rapidly manoeuvres to defeat drone swarms without more boots on the ground.
“Together with GDLS and Kodiak, we’re enabling a new layer of autonomous drone defence for critical assets and infrastructure.”
In addition, Leonidas AGV can reportedly rapidly deploy to pre-planned intercept points or manoeuvre across a perimeter to protect critical assets from the threat of individual, swarm or fibre-optic controlled drone attacks.
“We partner with other companies so we can provide best-in-class capabilities to the Army – and the Leonidas AGV is a timely example,” said Keith Barclay, vice president and general manager for US operations at General Dynamics Land Systems.
“Integrating leading-edge technology from Epirus and Kodiak into a commercial-based vehicle is one way to ensure American soldiers have the power to win on the battlefield.
“At GDLS, we’re moving faster than ever before and we think there’s a great future for commercially inspired innovations such as Leonidas AGV.”
Leonidas AGV can reportedly safely defeat individual drones and saturation swarm attacks without expending costly and limited interceptors, creating a resilient and low-collateral close-in defence layer for critical assets and infrastructure.
The dual-use Kodiak Driver system enables Leonidas AGV to operate autonomously across a range of complex environments, from structured highways to unstructured off-road environments and everything in between.
“Autonomous mobility fundamentally changes how advanced defensive systems can be deployed and operated,” said Don Burnette, founder and CEO of Kodiak AI.
“By integrating the Kodiak Driver with Epirus’ Leonidas platform and GDLS’ integration expertise, we are demonstrating how commercially developed autonomy enables mobile counter-UAS capabilities that protect critical assets and keep warfighters out of harm’s way.
“This collaboration directly meets the US military’s need for scalable, adaptable and cost-effective autonomous ground vehicles.”
