The ongoing war in Ukraine has changed the face of the battlefield forever. The widespread use of drones has undermined traditional air defenses; It is not practical to launch missiles that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to counter a threat that costs only a few hundred dollars. Scale this up to counter a swarm of drones, and the logistics, cost, and effectiveness of such systems decrease even further. This is why systems like Israel’s Iron Beam laser weapon that can destroy drones for a few dollars “a pop” are being introduced into combat service.
The Chinese Hurricane 3000 system is another new weapon developed to address the growing use of drones in warfare. However, unlike the laser-based Israeli system, the Hurricane 3000 system uses microwaves to disable drones and drone swarms at ranges greater than 3 kilometers (1.9 mi). It is a weapon similar to the US military’s Leonidas microwave weapon, although China claims that the 3000’s reported three-kilometer-plus range is one kilometer longer than the Leonidas system.
The Zhuhai Airshow in 2024 was when the public got its first glimpse of the new system, and it was later demonstrated at a military parade in Beijing in September 2025. Recently, Norinco, the Chinese state-owned contractor developing the system, disclosed some technical details of the system and its intended role. Both systems are vehicle-mounted and can be operated independently or networked into a combined air defense system with missile, laser, and artillery units.
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How high-power microwaves disable drones
US Leonidas high-power microwave weapon – Epirus/YouTube
The history of war is not just a story of conflict; It is often a story of an arms race that can be seen dramatically. The increasing use of drones on the battlefield illustrates this point well, as arms manufacturers are urged to come up with practical solutions to address this threat not only effectively, but cost-effectively. The use of high-power microwave weapons (HPM) is an area where developers have thrown a lot of resources, and the Chinese weapon is the latest manifestation of this.
Unlike lasers or kinetic weapons, HPMs are designed to overwhelm a drone or UAV’s electronic systems using bursts of concentrated electromagnetic energy. These bursts travel at the speed of light and can cause drones to fail in a number of ways, including EMI-induced timing errors and physical damage to electronic components. Another characteristic of such weapons is their versatility; Advanced systems like Epirus’ Leonidas can not only target specific drones but have disabled a swarm of 49 drones in a matter of seconds. And, as long as they have power, the other main advantages of these weapons are an immense ammunition supply and drastically lower engagement costs.
The fact that these beams travel at the speed of light allows for a quick response once a target is detected and tracked. This makes them effective against fast, low-flying drones that are difficult (and potentially expensive) to intercept using conventional air-defense methods. However, the system is not flawless; It is generally considered a line-of-sight weapon, and its effectiveness can be reduced with an effective shield.
Hurricane 3000
The Hurricane 3000 and its smaller Hurricane 2000 versions are mobile, truck-mounted systems that have moved from the experimental phase to field deployment and were demonstrated at China’s 2025 V-Day military parade. The more advanced Hurricane 3000 system has longer range, improved tracking, detection, and fully automated combat capabilities. Overall, according to Norinco expert Yu Jianjun, the 3000 represents “a vast upgrade in combat performance compared to the Typhoon 2000”.
The system uses radar to detect threats at long ranges. Once detected, the system switches on optoelectronic sensors to guide the microwave antennas to the target. However, it is not designed to replace existing air defenses. Rather, it is intended to complement existing “conventional” missile and artillery systems to form an “iron triangle” drone defense system, each system with its own force application.
While the primary focus of the development program was to develop an effective way to counter the drone threat, Norinco says it intends to explore other potential applications for the platform. Mr. Yu said that among the options being explored are electronic warfare aircraft, communications jamming, the use of weapons to counter precision weapons, and, it has been proposed, a non-lethal active denial system against humans. The latter is a beam of concentrated energy that can cause recipients to experience an unbearable burning sensation with minimal risk of injury.
In short, Hurricane and similar weapons exist because shooting million-dollar missiles at hobby-grade drones stopped making sense.
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