Bringing EMP Capability to System-of-Systems Offering

Northrop Grumman has made a strategic agreement with Los Angeles-based Epirus to offer the latter’s electromagnetic pulse (EMP) capability as a component of its own C-UAS system-of-systems offering, the company announced on 20 July.

“UAS threats are proliferating across the modern battlespace,” explained Kenn Todorov, VP/General Manager, Combat Systems and Mission Readiness at Northrop Grumman. “By integrating the Epirus EMP weapon system into our C-UAS portfolio, we continue maturing our robust, integrated, layered approach to addressing and defeating these evolving threats.”

Northrop Grumman’s end-to-end C-UAS solutions deliver a layered architecture with a full complement of kinetic and non-kinetic effects, aerial and ground sensors and the battle-hardened, proven and deployed Forward Area Air Defense Command and Control (C2) system, recently selected by the US Army as the interim C2 system for counter-small-UAS  (C-sUAS) capabilities.

Epirus’ C-UAS EMP system — LEONIDAS — is designed for static and mobile C-UAS defence and uses solid-state commercial semiconductor technology to deliver capability with unprecedented reductions in size and weight. This enables increased stand-off ranges and speed-of-light engagements that do not suffer from issues with magazine depth or capacity. When fired, LEONIDAS creates an EMP that can be steered for precision engagements or adjusted to sanitise a volume of terrain or sky, creating a ‘force field’ effect.

“We’re excited to work closely with the Northrop Grumman team to support their C-UAS systems-of-systems solution offering,”. “Our unprecedented EMP capabilities will complement [the Northrop Grumman system-of-systems] offering as we continue to look to the future to understand how asymmetric threats will evolve,” stated Epirus’ CTO, Bo Marr.