As drone swarms become one of the biggest headaches for militaries around the world, defense companies are racing to develop new ways to stop them without firing expensive missiles at every target. Lockheed Martin says its latest system is built to tackle that challenge.
The company has unveiled MORFIUS X-Rotor, a new airborne counter-drone system that uses high-power microwave (HPM) technology to disable enemy drones. According to Lockheed Martin, the reusable system can neutralize more than 50 hostile drones during a single flight, making it one of the most ambitious anti-drone concepts announced to date.
Instead of physically striking each target, MORFIUS X-Rotor emits powerful microwave energy designed to disrupt the electronics that keep drones flying. That “one-to-many” approach could make it particularly useful against large coordinated drone attacks, which have become increasingly common in modern conflicts.
One of the biggest selling points is cost. Lockheed Martin says MORFIUS is designed to be recovered after a mission and reused in the field, helping keep the cost per engagement significantly lower than traditional interceptor-based systems. That’s an important consideration as militaries look for affordable ways to counter inexpensive commercial drones that can overwhelm conventional air defenses.
The company also says MORFIUS is designed to fit into existing defense networks rather than requiring specialized infrastructure. It’s sensor-agnostic and command-and-control agnostic, meaning operators don’t need dedicated fire-control radars or unique sensors to guide the system toward its targets. That flexibility could make it easier to integrate into a variety of military operations.
Lockheed Martin isn’t stopping with the unveiling. The company says it’s ramping up prototype production of both MORFIUS and its microwave payload while preparing additional flight tests. Those tests will build on earlier demonstrations conducted in Arizona, California, and Oklahoma, where the system underwent flight, interception, and lethality evaluations.
The latest version also builds on years of development. Lockheed Martin says previous MORFIUS variants have been flying since 2017, allowing engineers to refine the platform and its high-power microwave technology before introducing the new X-Rotor configuration.
The announcement also aligns with the US Department of Defense’s 2025-2028 Rapid Response Counter-UAS Roadmap, which prioritizes affordable and scalable solutions to defend against the rapidly growing threat posed by unmanned aircraft systems.
According to Lockheed Martin, MORFIUS X-Rotor is currently the only ground-launched, field-reusable airborne high-power microwave system capable of defeating more than 50 drones in a single mission while operating without dedicated fire-control radars.
“MORFIUS sets a new benchmark for counter-drone capability — delivering a high kill rate while keeping the cost per kill low,” Randy Crites, vice president and general manager of Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control Advanced Programs, said in a statement.
As drone warfare continues to evolve, the focus is increasingly shifting from simply destroying individual aircraft to defeating entire swarms efficiently. Whether MORFIUS X-Rotor ultimately lives up to its claims will depend on future testing and operational deployment, but Lockheed Martin is clearly betting that high-power microwaves will play a major role in the next generation of counter-drone defense.
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