[BizHanKook] At the ‘2026 Defense Drone Technology Exhibition’ held by the Ministry of National Defense at the Pocheon Rodriguez Live Fire Complex on September 16, the Agency for Defense Development (ADD) unveiled for the first time a ground-based High Power Microwave (HPM) weapon system currently under development. An HPM weapon is an electromagnetic device that damages drone circuitry with powerful electromagnetic waves. Unlike guns, missiles, or lasers, it can neutralize multiple drones simultaneously. If deployed in the field, it is expected to significantly enhance the ROK military's capability to respond to North Korean ‘swarm drone’ attacks.
In modern warfare, it is common for weapon systems to take over a decade to develop and remain in service for more than 30 years, but drones are an exception. Since the Russia-Ukraine War, drones have been evolving rapidly, surpassing previous generations not in years, but in intervals of mere months.
However, as military drones become increasingly intelligent and lethal, the importance of anti-drone capabilities is growing, yet we still struggle to establish effective systems. During the swarm drone response live-fire exercise conducted by the Air Force on June 23, when eight 20mm Vulcan anti-aircraft guns were fired, the public criticized the military, noting that “thousands of rounds fired at 50 stationary drones could not neutralize them.” In reality, small swarm drones are extremely difficult to counter. Various weapon systems were on display, including the ‘Chungung’ laser air defense weapon, mobile laser cannons, and LIG Nex1’s multi-layered anti-drone integrated system.
The HPM, unveiled by the ADD for the first time, is the most eye-catching anti-drone weapon among them. Some media outlets reported that the HPM weapon was first displayed during the ADD’s 50th-anniversary event in 2020; however, the equipment shown at that time was an EMP single-pulse launcher, not an HPM weapon capable of continuously emitting powerful electromagnetic waves.
In contrast, the HPM weapon revealed this time is a “true HPM” that responds to enemy drones using sustained electromagnetic output rather than a single EMP pulse. It is characterized by its ground-based configuration, featuring a large dish-type antenna capable of weapon-grade output and power/control units mounted on a towed trailer. After “swarm attacks,” which involve sending dozens to hundreds of cheap drones at once, became a reality in the Ukraine war and Middle Eastern conflicts, this weapon—long considered one of the most viable countermeasures alongside lasers—has finally appeared in physical form.
According to on-site materials, the output of the HPM weapon developed by the ADD is 500 MW (megawatts) with an effective range of 500m. HPM fires a wide beam of powerful microwaves, inducing an overcurrent in the electronic circuits of drones within its range and frying them entirely. Simply put, it applies the principle of how a microwave oven heats food to the “brains” of a drone.
In other words, while existing anti-drone weapons using radio waves rely on jamming to interfere with communication or navigation, which is a ‘Soft Kill,’ an HPM weapon is a ‘Hard Kill’ weapon that directly destroys the target.
In particular, HPM weapons have an advantage over other hard-kill systems when dealing with drone swarms. Machine guns or cannons are difficult to aim at micro-drones without precise targeting, and hard-kill suicide drones, while cheaper than missiles, still face cost issues. Laser weapons allow for rapid response, but they have limits on firing rates, requiring multiple units to counter multiple targets simultaneously. While some researchers claim laser weapons can create a “curtain” effect, it is difficult to achieve weapon-grade power due to the inherent nature of light-based energy.
On the other hand, HPM weapons possess superior simultaneous multi-target attack capabilities compared to any existing hard-kill anti-drone system. Because they use electromagnetic properties to cause circuit failure via high voltage, they require far less energy than lasers, which must melt the drone's surface. In fact, Andy Lowery, CEO of Epirus, maker of the world's best existing HPM weapons, noted that “the proliferation of fiber-optic guided drones has revealed a new operational gap in anti-drone defense,” adding that “weaponizing electromagnetic interference to shoot them down is a major breakthrough.”
For this reason, countries around the world are accelerating the development of HPM weapons. Epirus’ ‘Leonidas’ neutralized 100% of 61 drones during a live-fire test at Camp Atterbury, Indiana, last August, taking down 49 of them with a single pulse. Beyond this, the U.S. is developing ‘Mjolnir,’ a successor to the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL)’s ‘THOR,’ and is also developing HPM weapons for unmanned aerial vehicles.
Other nations are also racing to develop HPM weapons. The Radio Frequency Directed Energy Weapon (RFDEW) project, pursued by the UK’s Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) and Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S), neutralized over 100 drones in a test last year, recording a cost per shot of 10 pence (approximately 180 won) at a range of 1km. China claims its truck-mounted ‘Hurricane 3000,’ produced by Norinco, has an effective range exceeding 3km. Additionally, China is currently researching the development of a 100GW-class HPM weapon.
However, HPM weapons are not without weaknesses. They are less effective against military-grade missiles that have proper electromagnetic shielding, and they do not work well if it is difficult to induce current into the drone’s interior through its antennas. It is difficult to achieve results against military-grade UAVs that are well-equipped with Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) protection systems.
Another issue is the need to match the ‘resonant frequency’ of the enemy drone. Because the frequency that easily fries a circuit depends on how the current flows inside the drone, it is difficult to achieve results without the Electronic Intelligence (ELINT) capability to grasp the characteristics of the enemy drone and respond accordingly. Furthermore, the difficulty of obtaining a power source in the field to generate high-power pulses is another challenge.
Nevertheless, the direction is clear. As North Korean drone infiltrations have shown, existing air defense networks cannot perfectly filter out the threat of small drones. Machine guns are limited by ammunition, missiles by cost, and jamming by autonomous-flight drones. The need for a multi-layered defense system that integrates lasers, jamming, interceptor drones, and HPM is undeniable. However, we must boldly pursue new technologies, such as the active use of Gallium Nitride (GaN) semiconductor components to upgrade HPM weapons, the development of small gas turbine generators using domestic small jet engines currently in progress, and the creation of ‘HPM hard-kill drones’ that receive power via wired cables to fire electromagnetic waves, as well as missile-warhead and aircraft-mounted HPM systems.