The US Army tested a high-power microwave weapon as part of the US-Philippines Balikatan 2025 joint military drills. This is the first time the weapon has been employed in the Indo-Pacific region and coincides with rapidly rising tensions with China.
The Philippines and the United States kicked off their annual Balikatan 2025 military drills last week with thousands of US troops, vehicles, and weapons systems pouring into the Philippines for what is dubbed the largest joint military exercise ever conducted between the two countries.
The drills started on April 21 and are expected to conclude on May 9.
As part of these drills, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the United States Armed Forces conducted an ‘one-of-a-kind’ Integrated Air and Missile Defense (IAMD) training on April 27, 2025, at the Naval Education, Training, and Doctrine Command (NETDC) in Zambales.
The drills saw the deployment of the Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS) of the US Marine Corps, which is designed to detect, track, identify, and neutralize aerial threats—especially drones (UAS), helicopters, and low-flying aircraft.
However, another and rather more crucial weapon, called Integrated Fires Protection Capability High-Powered Microwave (IFPC-HPM), was also deployed in the combined joint integrated air and missile defense live-fire exercise, as recently notified by the US Army.
According to the US Army, on April 28, 2025, the 1st Multi-Domain Task Force (1MDTF) tested its Fixed Site-Low, Slow, Small Unmanned Aerial System Integrated Defeat System (FS-LIDS) and Integrated Fires Protection Capability High-Powered Microwave (IFPC-HPM) during drills.
The IFPC-HPM is a Directed Energy (DE) weapon system that can destroy, interfere with, or disable Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) by emitting a beam of microwave energy. The IFPC-HPM is the first material released DE weapon system specifically designed to counter swarms of drones—an increasingly common threat in modern combat. The 1st MDTF has been testing the HPMs in various conditions since February 2024.
As per the official statement, the 1MDTF soldiers were joined by members of the Philippine Air Force, 960th Air and Missile Defense Group, who participated alongside their partners as part of the Subject Matter Expert Exchange (SMEE) program, and U.S. Marines with the 3rd Littoral Anti-Air Battalion’s Ground-Based Air Defense Battery who employed the Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS) during this multi-day live-fire event.
The US Army Capt. Bray McCollum, battery commander of 1-51 ADA’s Integrated Fires Protection Capability (IFPC) battery, said, “This is a great opportunity for joint training alongside our short-range air defense counterparts from the US Marines.”
This marks the first time the US Army’s IFPC-HPM was deployed to the Indo-Pacific and tested in a tropical environment.
“This advanced equipment supports the U.S.-Philippine Alliance through enhancing combined military cooperation and advancing our shared commitment to a secure, stable, and free Indo-Pacific region for all,” the statement read.
More importantly, the IFPC-HPM was tested alongside the FS-LIDS, which is also a counter-drone capability that has been extensively tested in the Middle East. It can be used in conjunction with the IFPC-HPM to detect, track, and disable UAS while enabling the electronic-optical infrared camera of the IFPC-HPM to positively identify the UAS target.
Both systems can be used to disable the targets. Thus, creating a multi-layered defense of non-kinetic effects.
Notably, the deployment and IAMD exercise coincide with increased military cooperation between the US and the Philippines amid escalating Indo-Pacific tensions with China, especially in the South China Sea, which is almost entirely claimed by China as its sovereign territory.
In the past few years, Manila has faced multiple, volatile confrontations with Beijing, necessitating a military modernization and a pursuit of closer ties with the United States.
It is noteworthy that advanced counter-drone systems in this region signal a strategic response to China’s growing drone and missile capabilities.
IFPC-HPM Weapon Of The US Army
In response to the growing threat posed by drones, especially low-cost, swarm-capable unmanned aerial systems (UAS), the US has been focusing on ways to lower the cost-per-shot.
Directed Energy Weapons, like high-power microwaves, help do exactly that. The combination of IFPC and HPM is a potent countermeasure against drones and their swarms.
The Indirect Fire Protection Capability (IFPC) System “is a mobile, ground-based weapon system used to defeat rockets, artillery, and mortars (RAM), unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), and cruise missiles (CM),” as per the US Army.
IFPC is designed to bridge the gap between short-range air defense (SHORAD) systems, the Patriot air and missile defense system, and the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system, in addition to protecting critical fixed- or semi-fixed assets. It is comprised of a launcher and interceptors, and is available in various variants.
Epirus, a US-based company, has developed the Leonidas HPM system, which uses microwave energy to disable drones, including swarms, by targeting their electronics and causing them to fall from the sky.
Unlike kinetic systems, which can cost thousands of dollars to attack a target, microwave systems are anticipated to fight drone threats for pennies.
IFPC-HPM is designed to offer “short-range protection for fixed and semi-fixed sites” against swarm attacks from small unmanned aerial systems (defined as those weighing 55 pounds or less). The US Army awarded Epirus a $66.1 million contract in January 2023 to supply the Army with four powerful microwave prototypes for testing in FY2024. All deliveries were completed last year.
The US is likely testing this high-tech weapon system in the Indo-Pacific to bolster its defenses, as a conflict between the US and China, particularly over Taiwan, cannot be ruled out.
China is known to have developed swarm drone capabilities. A swarm includes hundreds or thousands of drones that are controlled as a single unit.
In a swarm, the drones fly together and are aware of their surroundings and proximity to one another. Like a flock of birds, they use algorithms to avoid bumping into each other.
China displayed the largest drone swarm ever deployed, with 1,180 drones performing an aerial show that danced and blinked in unison.
Chinese companies, such as DJI and state-backed entities, have developed cutting-edge drones. The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has prioritized swarm drones for military applications, including Intelligence, Reconnaissance, and Surveillance, electronic warfare, and kinetic strikes.
Overall, China has emerged as a leading player in the drone market and one of the top exporters in the world.
Use By Ist MDTF Is Significant
Based in the Indo-Pacific, the 1st MDTF is a crucial component of the US Army’s multi-domain operations (MDO) strategy, which combines air defense, cyber, electronic warfare, and long-range firepower to counter A2/AD techniques, particularly those employed by China.
The Army has established five MDTFs, with additional ones in Europe, the Arctic, and in global response roles. The 1st MDTF’s involvement in testing IFPC-HPM during Balikatan 2025 aligns with its mission to experiment with advanced technologies in theater.
For the Philippines, learning to operate novel technology and weapons is imperative amid the security threat posed by China in the South China Sea, where the two countries remain embroiled in an unending territorial conflict, triggering fears that a miscalculation could escalate into a region-wide conflict.
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