It’s On: The Drone–Anti-Drone Arms Race

Drones are the hot new weapon. Anti-drone energy weapons might be the next.

Axios reported yesterday on one such system, the Leonidas, which brought down a formation of 49 quadcopters by emitting high-power microwaves that disabled their electronics. Raytheon and other firms worldwide are developing similar microwave-based or laser-based technologies.

Anti-drone weapons: The race is on to find cheap, portable systems that can disrupt control signals, destroy circuitry, or burn a hole through an incoming drone. Who has what?

• United States: thor high-power microwave; p-hel high-power laser; helios high-power laser
• Russia: stupor electromagnetic rifle; Alabuga high-altitude pulse weapon
• Ukraine: edm4s electromagnetic rifle
• Israel: Iron Beam high-power laser
• China: LW-30 high-power laser; Silent Hunter high-power laser
• Germany: Rheinmetall high-power laser
• South Korea: Block-I high-power laser
• France: helma-p portable laser

On the battlefield: In the real world, handheld anti-drone energy weapons have been used in combat by Russia and Ukraine since 2022 and by Russia in Syria as early as 2016.

Yet drones might win out. Cheap, scalable, already in heavy use, and constantly improving, drones could be adapted to withstand or avoid microwaves and lasers. Some have already been adapted and are piloted in combat by miles-long, microwave-proof fiber-optic cables guiding them in for the kill.

Learn more: Read “A Prelude to the Weapons of World War III.”