Epirus secures $11 million Marine Corps contract for HAVOC system

WASHINGTON — The Marine Corps has signed off on an $11 million contract with defense tech contractor Epirus for a counter-unmanned aircraft system (C-UAS) installed on ground vehicles, the company announced today. 

Under the contract — which includes training, service and sustainment support — the company will deliver a High-power Microwave Autonomous Vehicle Operational Capability (HAVOC) system that temporarily incapacitates electronic assets for counter-drone operations. The system will feature a “universal sled mount” to pair it with various manned and unmanned vehicles across the service, per Epirus’ release.

“This award highlights the Marine Corps’ commitment to fielding integrated, software-defined systems optimized for the complex and rapidly evolving drone threat,” Epirus CEO Andy Lowery said in a statement.

The new contract was awarded through the Navy’s Office of Naval Research, and comes after Epirus delivered the Expeditionary Directed Energy Counter-Swarm (ExDECS) system to the Marine Corps in 2025. 

That system is an evolution of the company’s Leonidas Expeditionary system, a high-powered microwave capability designed to temporarily disable electronics such as those on unmanned systems. 

The HAVOC system is an “upgraded” autonomy-enabled iteration of the ExDECS system, and will be used for Low Altitude Air Defense formations to safeguard ground-based air defense assets, refueling points, and radars, among other things — all with increased power output and enhanced coverage, according to the company. 

“The HAVOC system will advance the one-to-many solution introduced with ExDECS and strengthen the Marines’ ability to deliver precise, low-collateral protection of high-value points and Marine warfighters,” Lowery said.