Andy Lowry is CEO of Epirus, a $1+ billion defense tech company developing counter-drone technology. A retired Navy Surface Warfare Officer with 30+ years in advanced technology, Lowry previously served as Chief Engineer at Raytheon working on electronic warfare systems including the Next Generation Jammer. He's also founding CEO of Realware and currently studying integral noetic sciences.

The conversation explores Epirus's flagship product Leonidas, a directed energy weapon using high-power microwave technology to neutralize drone swarms. Lowry discusses the evolution from traditional 'lion-hunting' defense systems to new 'mouse trap' technologies needed for modern asymmetric warfare, drawing insights from Zero to One about breakthrough innovation versus incremental improvement.

With drone warfare escalating globally and recent incidents like mysterious overflights of U.S. nuclear facilities, Lowry explains how electromagnetic pulse technology represents a paradigm shift in defense capabilities, offering cost-effective solutions against swarms that traditional kinetic weapons cannot economically address.

From Navy Nukes to Microwave Warfare Pioneer

Lowry enlisted in 1991 after seeing the 'Lava Monster' Marine Corps commercial, but ended up in Navy nuclear power when the Marine recruiting station was closed.

Transitioned from nuclear engineering to RF/microwave work at MACOM and later Raytheon, where he led development of the Next Generation Jammer using gallium nitride technology on EA-18 Growlers.

Gallium nitride semiconductors can 'withstand huge, huge power densities way, way, way better than traditional semiconductors' and unlock new classes of directed energy systems.

Epirus Origins and the Drone Warfare Vision

Founded in 2018 by investors Joe Lonsdale and Grant Verstandig who anticipated the drone threat before it materialized, with early prototypes using 'rigged open microwave oven doors.'

The founding team saw drone proliferation coming and 'anticipated even before that we would have something on stateside soil' - remarkably prescient given current threats.

Lowry joined in 2021 as Chief Product Officer, later becoming CEO, leading the development of Generation 2 systems with improved range and survivability.

Leonidas Technology: Electromagnetic Force Fields

Leonidas creates 'the first version that the human race of a force field' using high-powered electromagnetic interference that disables drone electronics without physical destruction.

The system uses hundreds of individual antenna elements that phase together to create a focused beam, steered electronically at 'microsecond speeds' to engage multiple targets simultaneously.

Range scales with system size: tank protection at 50 meters, base defense at 1.5 kilometers, with building-sized versions potentially reaching miles.

Detection occurs at 10-20 kilometers while engagement happens around 2 kilometers, providing layered defense coordination.

Mice vs Lions: Defense Industry Transformation

Traditional defense primes are optimized for 'hunting lions' with expensive, exquisite systems, but current threats are 'mice' requiring different approaches entirely.

Prime contractors operate 'like a law firm' - waiting for requirements and building to specification rather than innovating proactively like neo-primes.

As Lowry explains referencing Zero to One, Leonidas represents 'a zero-to-one system' - completely new technology that people don't understand, making adoption challenging.

The cost asymmetry is unsustainable: 'you're talking about shooting a $2 million missile to get a $500 drone' versus pennies per electromagnetic shot.

Real-World Deployment and Wartime Readiness

Systems deployed to Philippines on exercises, with Middle East deployments ongoing as 'weapon systems that are moving right now, moving into theater.'

Barksdale Air Force Base incident involved 'multiple waves' of 12 drones each that were 'totally impervious to jamming' and successfully surveilled nuclear facilities.

Current production target is one system per week in California, scaling to 100+ annually in Oklahoma as demand accelerates.

The 'frozen middle' of military bureaucracy still hesitates despite top-level support: 'there's a lot of sort of hesitation still' to deploy new technologies.

Strategic Implications and Future Warfare

China's reported capacity to produce '30 million drones a year' creates massive magazine depth disadvantage for traditional kinetic defenses.

Electromagnetic systems preserve forensic evidence since 'the computer is still intact' after shootdown, enabling threat attribution and source tracking.

The technology will 'change the face of drone warfare completely' though it remains a 'chess game or cat and mouse game' of action and countermeasure.

Lowry predicts 2026 as 'the year of Epirus' when widespread deployment will 'cripple the ability for bad actors to be able to use drones.'