The well-known Israeli defense company Rafael successfully conducted field tests of the new Iron Beam laser system, which managed to intercept multiple targets, including unmanned aerial vehicles, mortar mines, ballistic and anti-tank missiles. In the future, the Iron Beam system will complement the well-known Israeli Iron Dome air defense system, making it more efficient and cheaper to use.

The Iron Dome system is a complex radar system capable of detecting and tracking multiple targets of various types within range of the system and intercepted by anti-missiles. However, this system has shown its effectiveness many times and has a number of disadvantages. According to various sources, the price of used anti-missiles costs 40-100 thousand US dollars per launch, and the system has some difficulty in intercepting targets less than 4 kilometers away.

The basis of the Iron Beam system is a fiber optic laser capable of hitting targets at literally light speed and destroying them in five seconds at a distance of up to 7 kilometers. Data on the laser power of the Iron Beam system is not publicly available, but according to some indirect data it is measured in the hundreds of kilowatts. In addition, the cost of a laser shot is a penny compared to a single anti-missile launch, in addition, the laser can “shoot” almost continuously until the required amount of electricity is found.

The recent Iron Beam field trials are part of the first phase of a program conducted at sea or in the air by Rafael and several other private companies commissioned by the Israeli Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Defense Research (Israel Dr.), which can be conducted at sea or in the air. Complements the Iron Dome system.

According to Brigadier General Yaniv Rotem, head of one of the DDR&D’s governing units, the final phase of the program will be the deployment of several laser installations along Israel’s borders over the next ten years. At the same time, the creation of such an air-based system that can strengthen the ground system at any point in the short term, if needed, will continue.