Auriga Space’s Winnie Lai on the future of electromagnetic weapons

In this episode of the podcast, Winnie Lai, founder and CEO of Auriga Space, joins us to discuss how electromagnetic launch technology could offer a more affordable way to defend against cheap drones. From the growing cost imbalance between low-cost drones and multimillion-dollar interceptor missiles to the use of magnetic forces instead of gunpowder or rocket motors, the conversation explores Auriga’s work with the US Army and how the same underlying technology could eventually help launch satellites into orbit. Also, subscribe to IE+ for premium insights and exclusive content! Turning an electric motor into a launcher Lai kicked things off by explaining that the basic principles behind Auriga’s system were already well established. The technology, she explained, shares similarities with electric cars and magnetic levitation trains. In an electric motor, electromagnets generate magnetic fields that move. Auriga effectively unrolled that circular motor, creating a linear system capable of accelerating an object along a track. “We generate magnetic forces and, using repulsive and attractive forces, we then generate motion,” she said. Auriga’s longer-term objective was to accelerate payloads to extremely high speeds using electricity alone. “Our ultimate goal is to provide a mechanism in which we can accelerate projectiles and different payloads to very high speeds with just electricity,” Lai explained, adding that this could be achieved “without any combustion or any chemical rocket motor boosters,” she added. Although comparisons with railguns are inevitable, Lai said Auriga’s design followed a different architecture. However, a traditional railgun, she explained, relies on physical electrical contact between two rails and the projectile. That contact generates considerable heat, creating wear and limiting the useful life of the launcher. Auriga instead uses magnetic levitation. “Under our system, there’s actually no physical contact because the entire system is magnetically levitated,” she told us. “As such, our systems are a lot more durable,” she added. Lai said Auriga has already completed more than 1,000 launches at its facility, describing the design as “demonstrated technology and proven technology.” “Whenever you eliminate physical contact, you eliminate physical drag,” she said. “You can use that energy that would have otherwise been used to overcome drag towards acceleration,” she added, Million-dollar missiles versus thousand-dollar drones The immediate military opportunity of this, Lai told us, is from the changing nature of war itself. Lai pointed to conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, where relatively inexpensive drones and missiles had increasingly been launched in large numbers. “Rather than building and launching multimillion-dollar missiles, they’ve now turned to low-cost drones and low-cost missiles that they can launch in swarms,” she said. Those swarms can overwhelm traditional air defence systems, both physically and financially. The problem, she notes, is not simply the price of each interceptor. Lai explained that the production capacity and supply chain constraints also limit how quickly conventional missile stocks can be replenished. “We can’t make these interceptors fast enough due to shortages in the chemical propellants that go into the solid rocket motors,” she told us. Auriga’s proposed answer is to remove the rocket motor from the equation. “What if you could take away the rocket motor portion of a traditional missile and replace that with a fully electric, fully reusable electromagnetic launcher?” Lai said. Removing the solid rocket motor allows the individual interceptors, or effectors, to become smaller. That translates into a launcher that can carry considerably more ammunition. “We’re able to carry a lot more effectors because they’re smaller,” she said. “That’s where the opportunity is for us to make a meaningful difference,” she added. Payload ambivallance As Lai told us, Auriga’s proposed system is not limited to one type of ammunition either. That said, Auriga initially envisaged using kinetic projectiles that would strike drones directly. However, Lai explained that the launcher could, in theory, deliver explosive payloads designed to detonate near a target. “That’s the beauty of our system, in the sense that we are payload agnostic,” she told us. “As long as it can fit inside the launcher, then we can launch it,” she added. Operators could therefore select different “ammunition” depending on the threat. One incoming drone can be engaged using a simple kinetic projectile, while another might require a guided or area-effect payload. What’s more, the launcher itself can pivot like a turret. Auriga intends to combine it with existing detection, tracking, and identification systems rather than attempt to develop every element internally. Lai said the company could launch relatively simple unguided projectiles or more advanced guided interceptors equipped with onboard electronics. There is, however, a trade-off. A basic projectile would be cheaper, allowing operators to fire more rounds. A guided projectile would cost more, but it would have a higher probability of hitting a moving target. “We have all these options available at our disposal,” she said. Software-defined firepower Another advantage of this system comes from its software-controlled architecture. Auriga can, for example, alter launch velocity depending on the mass of the projectile, the required range and the type of target being engaged. “The beauty of having a software-defined hardware platform is that we can adjust the launch velocity on the fly with just a click of software,” Lai explained. That adaptability could become increasingly important as drone technology evolves. Rather than redesigning an entire missile whenever a new threat emerged, Auriga could potentially modify the much smaller effector and update the software controlling the launch. “The threat is actually evolving quite rapidly,” Lai said. “Rather than having to redesign an entire missile to counter that threat, what we could provide is the ability to just redesign the effector,” she added. Less power-hungry than expected An electromagnetic launcher might sound as though it requires an enormous electricity supply, but Lai said that assumption was misleading. “The amount of energy that it takes to do a launch is equivalent to an electric car driving a couple hundred feet,” she told us. The launcher can draw power from several sources, including a diesel generator, a wall outlet or solar panels. Energy can also be stored in a battery, allowing the system to be charged once and fired repeatedly. “We made our system versatile to take in different power sources so that we can be deployable across the field,” Lai said. From counter-drone defence to space But counter-drone technology is only one potential application. Auriga’s original goal, Lai explains, remains the development of a ground-based electromagnetic system capable of providing the initial acceleration for a space launch. By replacing all or part of a rocket’s first stage, the company hopes to reduce the size, cost and turnaround time of satellite missions. Further into the future, Lai said the technology could even be deployed on the Moon. “The longer-term goal is to put a system like this on the Moon so that we can bring back valuable regolith or helium-3 and other minerals,” she said. For now, however, the focus was on testing and adapting the system for real-world defence applications. “Simulations are good on paper until they get tested in the real world,” Lai told us. When asked how soon that might happen, Lai remained understandably cautious. “I’d say there will be some news on that pretty soon,” she said.