A laser against missiles and drones for the defense of Israel. The government expects its “Iron Beam” laser defense system to be operational within a year, saying it will bring “a new era of warfare” as it engages in a drone and missile war with Iran and its regional partners, CNN writes it.
The Jewish state spent more than $500 million this week with Israeli developers Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, architect of Israel’s Iron Dome, and Elbit Systems to expand production of the shield. Dubbed Iron Beam, the shield aims to use high-powered lasers to counter a range of projectiles, including missiles, drones, rockets and mortars, Israel’s Defense Ministry said this week.
“It heralds the beginning of a new era in warfare,” Eyal Zamir, director general of the Defense Ministry, said in a statement this week. “The initial ground-based laser system capability… is expected to enter operational service within a year,” he said.
The system uses a high-power laser positioned on the ground. With a range of hundreds of meters to several kilometers, the laser heats the target’s shell in vulnerable areas, including the engine or warhead, until the projectile collapses. It is a different method from the traditional one used by Israel to destroy missiles and rockets, in which you use radar to identify an incoming threat and then launch an interceptor missile to destroy the projectile in mid-air. Compared to the Iron Dome, a laser shield would be cheaper, faster and more effective, experts say.
Each Iron Dome intercept missile is estimated to cost about $50,000, if not more, according to experts. Israel launches two missiles for interception, he told CNN Yehoshua Kalisky, senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) in Tel Aviv. Israel has intercepted shells almost every day since the war with its northern neighbor began. On Tuesday alone, around 50 projectiles crossed from southern Lebanon into Israeli territory, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said, adding that some were intercepted and others were not. Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, which is helping to produce the Iron Beam, said a laser defense system has “nearly zero cost per interception.”
“The economy is obviously the most important point,” he said on US TV Sascha Bruchmannvisiting researcher for military and defense analysis at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) in London. “You won’t ruin the defense budget.” Experts say the laser system would be particularly effective against drones, which Israel’s Iron Dome has repeatedly failed to intercept. While Israel’s Iron Dome intercepts and destroys most projectiles, it is designed primarily to counter rockets and missiles, not drones. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are small, lightweight and have a low radar signature, meaning Israel’s radar systems will not always detect them as well as they detect missiles, which are larger, experts said. Furthermore, drones do not always have a set destination and may change direction mid-journey. The laser system will be very effective against drones, Kalisky said. The laser will be able to effectively “heat and destroy” drones and UAVs.