U.S. Marines deploy cutting-edge tech to neutralize drones
The United States Marine Corps has acquired a new weapon to combat drones: the ExDECS microwave system from Epirus. Let's introduce what it is and how it operates.
According to the portal The Warzone, the United States Marine Corps has obtained a modern weapon for fighting drones called ExDECS. Presented during the Modern Day Marine conference in Washington, D.C., this system was developed by the company Epirus. ExDECS is a high-power microwave (HPM) weapon capable of disrupting or destroying drone electronics using a beam of microwave radiation.
ExDECS, an advancement of the Leonidas system, was delivered to the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Virginia, where it underwent acceptance tests. This system is part of the PEGASUS program, which aims to evaluate anti-drone systems. Thanks to ExDECS, the Marines gain an advantage in neutralizing electronic threats.
Additionally, it is mobile and can be integrated with light tactical vehicles. Its main function is to protect against drone swarms at a very low cost, with the estimated cost of shooting down a drone being approximately 5 cents Canadian.
Microwave weapons — competition for lasers
Military conflicts increasingly involve drones, and this includes not only state entities but also non-state actors, as was clearly seen during the conflicts in Syria that led to the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad. This poses new challenges for armed forces worldwide, who desperately need cost-effective ways to combat drones.
Firing a missile worth hundreds of thousands of dollars at a drone valued at a few thousand dollars is not sustainable in the long term, and as a result, many different solutions are being developed. Currently, barrel systems with programmable ammunition, which reduce the cost of shooting down a drone to a few thousand dollars, are becoming popular, but the ultimate goal is energy weapons.
These are divided into two groups: laser weapons and microwave weapons. The latter might not burn through armour like a high-power laser, but it can damage drone electronics, leading to their neutralization. The destructive effect comes from high-frequency electromagnetic waves, whose absorption by an object results in heating it. This leads to the overheating of electronics or, in some cases, causing thermal discomfort in humans, as seen with ADS systems.
While there are ways to protect electronics from this type of attack, they are very costly and challenging to implement. Moreover, the microwave beam is broad, allowing for the easy elimination of an entire swarm of drones.
