Singapore has entered into a memorandum of understanding with Epirus to examine the use of high-power microwave weapons for countering unmanned aerial systems.
The partnership, involving the Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA), will evaluate electromagnetic interference-based microwave systems designed to disrupt or incapacitate drone electronics. The effort targets emerging “dark drone” threats, including fiber-optic controlled and AI-driven platforms that are increasingly able to bypass traditional electronic warfare defenses.
As part of the collaboration, DSTA and the California-based company will exchange technical expertise and conduct joint testing to measure system effectiveness across a range of deployment conditions. Trials will focus on defeating both single UAS and swarm attacks across multiple domains, enhancing Singapore’s ability to defend key assets from advanced drone threats.
The initiative builds on Epirus’ December 2025 live-fire demonstration, during which its Leonidas counter-UAS system successfully disabled a fiber-optic guided drone at a US government test site. Epirus described the test as the first confirmed instance of weaponized electromagnetic interference being used to defeat a fiber-optic guided unmanned platform.
Fiber-optic FPV drones, now prevalent in the Ukraine war, operate without radio-frequency control links, rendering them largely immune to conventional jamming or spoofing. Epirus noted that Leonidas achieves its effects by inducing electronic failure through directed, non-ionizing electromagnetic energy rather than physical interception.
