Epirus announced last week that the 2024 Advanced Naval Technology Exercise Coastal Trident Program (ANTX-CT24) would feature field experiments aimed at assessing the effectiveness of the company’s long-pulse High-Power Microwave (HPM) technology against maritime threats by temporarily disabling small vessels powered by outboard motors.
These activities, organized and executed by Naval Surface Warfare Center Port Hueneme’s Office of Technology, will evaluate the potential of a cost-efficient, efficient, and non-lethal solution to counter the escalating threat posed by seaborne drones. Both state and non-state entities have recently utilized such drones as a means of offensive military capability.
The decision of the Navy to test Epirus’ HPM technology follows the U.S. Army’s awarding of a $66.1 million contract to Epirus in support of the Indirect Fire Protection Capability-High-Power Microwave Program (IFPC-HPM).
Epirus delivered the first of four systems to the Army’s Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office in November and completed delivery of all systems by March 2024. These systems will undergo additional soldier training and engineering developmental testing in April.
Alongside assessing the technology’s capability to disable outboard motors and small vessels temporarily, the exercise will involve stakeholders in port security and critical infrastructure protection. This aims to enhance awareness and accessibility to counter-vessel capabilities while testing its efficacy when deployed on uncrewed autonomous vessels.
A spokesperson for the ANTX-24 program stated that the research exercise aims to support Naval Innovative Science and Engineering research. It seeks to expedite the identification, assessment, and implementation of cutting-edge technology to address gaps for the U.S. Navy and its interagency partners in port and maritime security.
“We welcome this opportunity to demonstrate the effectiveness of long-pulse HPM technology in another threat environment. Epirus can defend against a wide range of threats across domains,” said Epirus CEO Andy Lowery. “Our expanded collaboration with the Department of Defense also underscores the growing recognition of the benefits of working with innovative tech companies outside of the traditional defense ecosystem.”
“ANTX-CT24 will feature technical demonstrations and experiments across a wide variety of technology areas, including unmanned systems countermeasures. We have conducted several HPM experiments in the past, as a method to counter electronic systems and unmanned aircraft swarms, and expect that an assessment of Epirus’ HPM system in a counter-surface vessel role will support the program’s goals effectively,” said Brendan Applegate, NSWC Port Hueneme Lead for Fleet Experimentation and Exercises.
Post Image- USS Princeton (CG 59) makes her way past Silver Strand Beach toward the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Port Hueneme Division, for a Combat Systems Assessment Team event on February 8, 2023. (Image Credit: U.S. Navy photo by Eric Parsons/Released)
