Military forces must prioritise a counter to drone swarming tactics with which inexpensive, mass-produced drones can overwhelm defences. What is needed is a layered defensive system that includes systems that can neutralise many threats within seconds. One such solution is now becoming available: the contemporary high-energy, high-power microwave (HPM) weapon. The employment of lethal drones costing a few hundred dollars each is threatening the ability of forces to accomplish missions without suffering unacceptable casualties and equipment losses. And when drones appear in large numbers, conventional defences, such as automatic cannons, can’t neutralise them fast enough. Defensive systems that use interceptors or projectiles are not only too slow against a drone swarm; their shots can cost more than the drones they aim to defeat. This is an urgent matter for all defence forces, including Australia’s. HPM weapons work by emitting directed bursts of electromagnetic energy, disabling the electronics of drones in mid-flight. In the most basic sense, they do in fact work rather like your microwave oven at home and even use similar radio-energy frequencies, but they act over hundreds, or low thousands, of metres. Unlike traditional kinetic systems, which must intercept and physically destroy each target individually, high-energy HPMs can adjust their beam to incapacitate massive swarms of drones in a single engagement.

Full commentary : A counter to drone swarms: high-power microwave weapons.