Sion Power’s Licerion Strike and Echo cells exceed 500 Wh/kg, enabling combat drones to fly two to three times longer than systems powered by conventional lithium-ion batteries.
Sion Power has announced two lithium-metal military drone battery cells purpose-built for unmanned defense systems. The Licerion Strike and Licerion Echo cells exceed 500 Wh/kg in energy density. Compared to conventional lithium-ion batteries, the cells enable two to three times longer flight duration. They also deliver more than 50% higher payload capacity and over 30% reduction in battery system weight.
As unmanned systems take on broader mission roles — reconnaissance, strike, logistics, and swarm operations — battery weight determines platform capability. Licerion’s lithium-metal anode surpasses conventional lithium-ion cells by more than 50% in energy density.
Licerion Strike and Echo: Two Military Drone Battery Platforms
Licerion Strike is a primary cell targeting loitering munitions, tube-launched ISR assets, high-speed reconnaissance drones, and one-way attack platforms. Its 6C discharge rate supports aggressive maneuvering and high-power terminal sequences without thermal derating.
Licerion Echo is a rechargeable cell for fixed-wing ISR, high-altitude long-endurance (HALE), maritime surveillance, and swarm platforms. It targets autonomous operations without access to forward-charging infrastructure, maximizing loiter time and operational radius.
“Every major drone program today is battery-constrained, and adversaries know it,” said Pamela Fletcher, CEO of Sion Power. “You can optimize the airframe, the sensor, the autonomy stack, but if the energy budget runs out, the mission fails. The lithium-ion plateau is real, and the industry has been incrementally improving a 30-year-old chemistry while mission requirements have outpaced it. Licerion Strike and Echo were built from first principles to solve a different physics problem entirely, and doing it here in the United States, at scale.”
Domestic Production Aligns with NDAA Requirements
Sion Power develops and manufactures in Tucson, Arizona. The company is one of few domestic sources of advanced military drone battery technology at this performance level. Production aligns with National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) sourcing requirements. The domestic supply chain also supports U.S. efforts to reduce dependence on foreign battery sources.
Sion Power is currently working with defense and aerospace partners on product demonstrations, system integration, and qualification programs. Initial shipments begin in Q3 2026.
More information is available at Sion Power.
Read More
- Beyond the Patrol Car: Drones Join the Public Safety Ecosystem
- A Day in the Life in Ouachita Parish: Inside a Real-Time Crime Center Where Drones Shape the Response
- UNOS and NASA Partner to Study Drone Organ Transport