As autonomous technology accelerates globally, the security landscape must also evolve. Today, low-cost, high-volume drone swarms present a unique challenge for modern air defense, one defined by speed, scale, and cost asymmetry. Traditional air defense systems, designed to fire multi-million-dollar interceptors, were not built to address low-cost, high-density aerial threats. Protecting American and allied skies requires an efficient, adaptable solution designed specifically for modern airspace security.
Solving this foundational problem requires a team willing to rebuild the physical hardware of American defense. Dr. Richard Starson and the Stellios Technologies team are doing exactly that, building a scalable shield for national security while reviving America’s high-energy power industry.
A Deep Magazine for Swarm Defense
Rather than trying to intercept threats one missile at a time, Stellios utilizes High-Power Microwave (HPM) systems operating at millimeter-wave frequencies to generate and direct MW-class microwave power against electronic threats. These systems are designed to neutralize the electronic components of incoming drone swarms, robotic systems, and potentially even satellites at tactically relevant ranges, delivering speed-of-light engagement, an effectively unlimited electrically powered magazine, and near-zero marginal cost per shot.
Deep Physics Meets AI-Driven Speed
Generating MW-class microwave power requires specialized vacuum-electronic hardware, a discipline mastered by very few teams worldwide. Founder Dr. Richard Starson, a Caltech Ph.D., led a team that previously designed, built, and operated a 100 kW CW gyrotron system. Stellios is now assembling a specialized hardware team to build and scale the next generation of American high-power microwave systems.
To overcome the multi-year lead times that have constrained directed energy and high-energy power systems, Stellios combines two modern breakthroughs:
SiC-Based Power Electronics: Replace bulky legacy power systems with compact, efficient modules capable of controlling MW-class power in cabinet-scale architectures.
The Stellios Genesis Platform: Stellios’ proprietary AI-native engineering and digital twin platform is designed to compress power-system design cycles from months to weeks, and ultimately days.
Securing the Future
With signed commercial contracts, defense customer discussions, and U.S.-based manufacturing underway, Stellios is moving rapidly from breakthrough physics toward field-ready systems.
Air defense is only the beginning. Stellios is rebuilding America’s high-energy power industry and developing a unified platform that extends from directed energy to compact fusion power and advanced propulsion. The company’s mission is to ensure these defining technologies are invented, built, and manufactured in America, securing American leadership across defense, energy, and space for decades to come.
Cubit Capital invested in Stellios because rebuilding America’s high-energy power industry is both a national imperative and a generational commercial opportunity, one that can help create a secure, prosperous future for America and humanity.