Los Angeles, California – April 4, 2024 – Epirus, a high-growth technology company, announced today that the 2024 Advanced Naval Technology Exercise Coastal Trident Program (ANTX-CT24) will include field experiments to investigate the ability of the company’s long-pulse High-Power Microwave (HPM) technology to temporarily disable small vessels powered by outboard motors.
The activities, planned and conducted by Naval Surface Warfare Center Port Hueneme’s Office of Technology, will examine the capability of a low-cost, effective and non-lethal option to address the growing threat from seaborne drones. Seaborne drones have recently been used by both state and non-state actors as an offensive military capability.
The Navy’s decision to test Epirus’ HPM technology follows the U.S. Army’s awarding Epirus a $66.1 million contract in support of the Indirect Fire Protection Capability-High-Power Microwave Program (IFPC-HPM).
The company delivered the first of four systems to the Army’s Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office in November and finalized delivery of all systems in March 2024. The systems will be going through additional Soldier training and engineering developmental testing in April.
“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.”
In addition to testing the technology’s ability to temporarily disable outboard motors and small vessels, the exercise will engage stakeholders in port security and critical infrastructure protection to increase awareness and access to counter-vessel capabilities and test its effectiveness when deployed on uncrewed autonomous vessels.
An ANTX-24 program spokesperson said the research exercise is intended to support Naval Innovative Science and Engineering research and accelerate identification, assessment, and implementation of leading-edge technology proposed to address gaps for the U.S. Navy and its interagency partners in port and maritime security.
"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.
ANTX-CT24 planning and execution milestones can be found on their website.
ABOUT EPIRUS:
Epirus is a high-growth technology company developing high-power microwave systems with unprecedented counter-electronics effects to protect against emerging threats. Visit our website to learn more about our innovative approach and cutting-edge product lines. For more information on Epirus’ solutions or to request an interview with subject matter experts, please contact media@epirusinc.com. High-resolution assets can be downloaded here.
ABOUT ANTX:
ANTX is a resource developed for low barrier-to-entry technical demonstration and
field experimentation by the Naval Research and Development Establishment, conducted to assist the naval and joint force maintain a competitive technical advantage.
The learning environments established during ANTX are intended to provide technologists with an understanding of the operational challenges faced by the warfighter and, complementing that, the warfighter with an understanding of developing and transitional technologies that might meet their needs. These events allow for collaboration among industry, academia, government research and development organizations, operational stakeholders, and provide a testbed environment in which end users are able to assess the utility of technical innovations before decisions are made on investment and acquisition priorities.
The result is an acceleration of information exchange and reduction in risk for larger technology exercises, material transitions, future research and development, a refined understanding of concepts of employment, concepts of operation that will develop as technology matures and achieves higher levels of operational integration, as well as barriers to implementation of technologies.
ABOUT COASTAL TRIDENT:
Coastal Trident was established in 2007 to meet the security training and exercise needs of the Port of Hueneme and familiarize law enforcement and emergency response partners with the unique challenges associated with port and maritime operations.
Coastal Trident provides opportunities for operational stakeholders at the federal, state, and local levels of government to train and exercise in relevant and timely scenarios. In 2024, these organizations have communicated the following objectives:
- Exercise of maritime interdiction and vessel-borne hostage rescue capabilities
- Exercise of mine countermeasures capabilities in a maritime homeland defense role
- Exercise of continuity of operations for Navy remote technical support missions
- Training and exercise of lithium battery safety and incident response capabilities
- Exercise of underwater search and rescue and mass casualty incident response capabilities
Alignment of ANTX with Coastal Trident provides access to scenario-based, operationally relevant test environments with representative end users not typically accessible to experimenters. Engagement in these venues maximizes feedback on concepts of employment, mission effectiveness, and operational suitability and provides access to interagency partners that expands awareness of technical solutions.
