Here’s a conversation with Epirus CEO Leigh Madden on the DefAero report with Vago Muradian. Epirus is building a software-define microwave system that can quickly target the right waveform using AI to adapt to threats. Basically, it can fry the electronics on a range of UAVs. Here are a few slices:
There was an attack on US forces in Syria and we successfully countered one drone — I’m not certain how many other drones there were but we did not successfully counter the others. We need an effective counter swarm solution, and that’s what we built our system to do. We can pinpoint down to a single drone and focus our high powered microwave, or open up the aperture and take down thousands of drones at a time. We do that at a fraction of the cost of any kinetic solution out there. We’ve seen US and allies firing munitions at single drones that cost anywhere from hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars a shot. What we’re doing at 0.003 cents per drone is very cost effective.
Madden says that a layered solution to counter-UAS is required, and microwave systems like Leonidas are one aspect of that. RF jamming, kinetic effects, and other solutions will still be required.
Here is a view of how a nontraditional should partner with the big prime contractors, but also must maintain a relationship with the government end customer to avoid the middle-man taking too much of the value-stream:
We work very well with the platform builder. A great example is General Dynamics putting Leonidas on a Stryker. Another example further down the road is putting it on a ship or aircraft. That relationship between the builders of platforms and innovators of new technology is integral to our success with the military going forward. I think the area we need to be careful is in a fear of failing fast you don’t try to insert traditional systems integrators between the innovative companies and the end customer. That proximity between the innovative company and end customer is critical to maintain that speed and agility.
Epirus has only received a total of about $1.8 million in prime contracts with the US government (as shown on FPDS), $1 million of which was in Other Transactions. However, Epirus raised $200 million in a Series C round in Feb 2022 and online estimates seem to pin them at roughly $50M in revenue a year.
Madden briefly touched the “valley of death” notion, finding that private capital seems to be waiting to see whether this generation of companies from 2016 or so will start breaking into major defense production contracts:
I think there are a lot of eyes in Silicon Valley on companies like Epirus waiting to see what will happen. There’s a lot of VC money sitting on the sidelines that could pile on top of what’s being done in defense, but there’s a wait-and-see attitude.
And here’s a bit on culture:
We trust in our people. We enable a culture where we got the best talent and trust them to get new solutions rapidly. Last week we graduated a group of 22 interns. I was so impressed with the quality of work they were doing — not just what they did but what we gave them, trusted them to do. The outcomes are real. These are projects we will continue and turn into product. I think that is unique in the industry.
This reminds me of the aerospace industry back in the 1940s through 1960s. For example, Dick Spivey at Bell in the 1960s right out of college was able to develop his own rotor-blade designs and could bug test pilots to try it out. This resulted in his invention of a quiet “Whisper Tip” blade as a youth. I think there was some wisdom to that trial-and-error methodology that allows people to utilize their creativity and take responsibility for solutions.
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