GENERAL DYNAMICS

General Dynamics-led team unveils self-driving truck with microwave counter-drone tech 

General Dynamics Land Systems, Epirus and Kodiak AI unveiled today a new mobile, autonomous vehicle for counter unmanned aerial system (UAS) missions, dubbed the Leonidas Autonomous Ground Vehicle (AGV). 

The prototype AGV shown here in Huntsville, Ala., consists of a commercial Ford F600 model truck tricked out with Kodiak’s autonomous driving software and Epirus’ Leonidas high-power microwave (HPM) c-UAS platform. GDLS serves as the lead systems integrator for the product, responsible for ensuring all the platforms work together. 

Andrew Brown, Epirus’ US Army growth lead, told Breaking Defense in an interview that the three companies teamed up to make the AGV after the Army’s former Rapid Capabilities Critical Technologies Office gave a “definitive direction” that it wanted a prototype of a mobile HMP solution. 

Brown said the companies hope to embed the product with the Army-led Joint Interagency Task Force (JIATF) 401, responsible for the Defense Department’s counter-drone efforts regarding homeland defense, as well as the broader Army. 

“We’re tight and close with the Army and the other services, but also JIATF 401,” Brown said. “So we see the AGV as part of that solution for defense and homeland security, both for military installations, but also can be used for airports, air bases, railheads, national infrastructure [and] critical infrastructure.” 

An appeal of the product, Brown said, is that it can take down drones without causing much surrounding damage and it is cheaper than exquisite interceptor systems. The option for unmanned navigation means soldiers can stay out of harm’s way, he said.

This isn’t Epirus’ first team-up with GD. In 2022, the big-time prime and Epirus rolled out the Leonidas Stryker, a mobile c-UAS system that (you guessed it) put Leonidas on a Stryker, and last October, the Leonidas Autonomous Robotic (AR), which put Leonidas on a robotic ground vehicle. 

Before we get ahead of ourselves, Leonidas AGV isn’t operational just yet. 

“This is an initial proof-of-concept prototype developed by the three companies on our own dime,” Epirus told Tectonic via email. “We’ll continue to mature the system and demonstrate it to potential customers in the coming months.”

“The integration took less than four months, which speaks to the agility of companies like Epirus and Kodiak and the systems integration expertise of GDLS,” the company added. “With their industry-leading autonomy stack and expanding defense business arm, [Kodiak was] the right partner at the right time to add to Epirus’ + GDLS’ long-standing partnership.

Looks like two things remain true in 2026: Autonomy is king, and the prime-startup love-fest is still in full swing.

Ray Moldovan, business development manager at GDLS, acknowledged that the AGV is in the prototyping phase at this point and has not yet been tested to take down drones while driving autonomously, but he said the team is hoping to conduct testing with JIATF 401 sometime this year, depending on the Army’s interest. 

“As a team here, we’re looking for that definitive signal from the Army customer to go. I think it’s akin to holding back race horses here, we’re ready to answer the call of the Army when it comes,” he said. 

Brown said that the first generation of the Epirus’ HPM system was used in the Indo-Pacific theater last year as part of the Army’s Balikatan exercise. The second generation recently completed testing in February with the Army, and the service owns two of those systems, he said. 

In regards to Kodiak’s autonomous driving solution, Chet Gryczan, the managing director of Kodiak Defense, said it allows the AGV to drive on terrain ranging from highways to off-road environments without endangering a driver.

Currently, Kodiak is on contract with the Marines to integrate its autonomous driving system into Joint Light Tactical Vehicles for the service’s Remotely Operated Ground Unit for Expeditionary Fires platform. The company also provides its autonomous system to the commercial market, Gryczan added. 

“The partnership here is really that this vehicle is delivering capability to the warfighter that’s, frankly, faster. We’re doing it faster and smarter and and really at a scale that we can kind of address the Army’s needs and what they’re asking for right now, where we see perhaps there’s a gap,” he said. “The fact that we’re leveraging a commercial platform and a commercial driver, and bringing Epirus’ Leonidas to this as well is a match made in heaven, so to speak.” 

In addition to making sure every aspect of the AGV fits together, GDLS is also in charge of modifying the commercial vehicles so they can receive the various sensors to connect with the autonomy, Moldovan told Breaking Defense. Though the current prototype uses a F600 truck, he said the system can work with any commercial truck.

Leonidas Autonomous Ground Vehicle (AGV), a mobile and fully autonomous system designed for defense and security missions.

Manufacturers: Developed through a partnership between General Dynamics Land Systems, Epirus, and Kodiak AI.

Defense technology: Integrates Epirus' high-power microwave platform, capable of neutralizing drones and unmanned aerial systems (C-UAS).

Autonomy: Utilizes the Kodiak Driver autonomous driving system, powered by artificial intelligence.

Application: Designed for critical point defense and internal security.

by Autonews