Three major defense companies, Epirus, General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS), and Kodiak AI, have teamed up to develop a new autonomous vehicle for counter-uncrewed aerial vehicles (Counter-UAV) missions: the Leonidas Autonomous Ground Vehicle (AGV). The vehicle was unveiled at the recent AUSA Global Force Symposium & Exhibition expo in Alabama. Zona Militar spoke with Andrew Wargofchik, spokesperson for Epirus, about the Leonidas AGV and the company’s projects in Latin America. Regarding Colombia, Wargofchik explained that Epirus is engaging the Colombian Ministry of Defense regarding the “potential of integrating” the company’s high-power microwave (HPM) platform “into their counter-UAS shield.” The company is confident that other Latin American militaries and security services will similarly be interested in Epirus’s systems to combat drones operated by criminal gangs and narco-insurgents. The so-called narco-drones can transport explosives, drugs, or be utilized for surveillance missions. “The Leonidas high-power microwave platform is capable of supporting the Latin American counter-UAS initiatives” aimed at eliminating these threats. Wargofchik explained that the company’s technology is “scalable and modular, and works by injecting high levels of microwave energy into a precise volume of space, coupling directly into the electronics of incoming threats. Latin American militaries are very interested in counter-UAV technologies. Case in point, the Colombian Ministry of Defense is seeking to develop a counter-UAV “national shield,” while the Ecuadorian air force recently completed a training course on counter-UAV missions. As for the Leonidas AGV, the platform combines technologies from the three companies: GDLS provides the commercial-grade truck platform, Kodiak AI provides the autonomous driving system, and the payload is Epirus’ Leonidas high-power microwave system, designed to counter UAV threats. A press release issued by the three companies describes the AGV as a “mobile counter-UAS capability that can be operated without human intervention or teleoperated to extend the counter-UAS line of