Peloni: This is a potentially game changing technology. I have been looking forward tot the deployment of this technology over the past few years, but this has thus far seemed to be an elusory expectation. Hopefully the expectation of deploying it this year will not be delayed further.
Israel Defense Minister Israel Katz said that the new lasers will “change the rules of the game in the region — our enemies should fear, not only the capabilities we have already developed, but the capabilities we are developing now.”
By Seth J. Frantzman |
An unidentified prototype laser-based air defense system Israel says it has used in combat. (IDF image)
Israel revealed that its military has used prototype laser air defenses to shoot down a number of threats during the course of the multi-front war that the country has been engaged in over the last year and a half.
Amid the “accelerated” development of “revolutionary interception systems,” the Israeli Air Force’s Aerial Defense Array “operated high-power laser system prototypes in the field, successfully intercepting scores of enemy threats,” said a joint statement from the Israeli Ministry of Defense’s R&D arm, the IAF and defense firm Rafael on Wednesday.
Video released by the ministry showed several drones being shot down. These appear similar to the types of drone threats Israel has faced from Hezbollah, as well as from Iranian-backed militias in Iraq and from the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen. The drones have a crucifix-like design with a V-tail at the rear. The video showed the laser burning their wing and causing them to crash.
The release did not say exactly what systems had been used — or which threats they had thwarted — but said the platforms were “part of Rafael’s portfolio of directed energy weapon systems” that are complimentary to its more high-profile, “more powerful” Iron Beam system currently under development. An industry source told Breaking Defense that the interceptions were conducted by variants of the Iron Beam and other laser interception-based systems.
At least two systems appear on a second video distributed by the ministry. One appears smaller, like the Lite Beam Rafael has showcased in the past, with a large lens and several other optics and sensors around it, and another showed what resembled a mobile version of Iron Beam, Iron Beam-M.
The head of the Israel Air Force’s Aerial Defense Array Brig. Gen. G., known only by his initial due to security reasons, said in a statement from the ministry that the laser systems had initial operation success against numerous aerial threats and munitions during the war. The systems are designed to counter drones, rockets and other threats.
Israel Defense Minister Israel Katz said that the new lasers will “change the rules of the game in the region — our enemies should fear, not only the capabilities we have already developed, but the capabilities we are developing now.”
“Upon taking office, I ordered the acceleration of the development of the system and its becoming operational out of understanding and recognition of its vital importance, and now it is already effectively defending the country’s skies and leading to extraordinary operational achievements,” he said. He praised Israel’s defense industries for being able to transform this vision into reality in “a short time.”
The Iron Beam system had been expected to be deployed this year. In 2022 Israel’s then-Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said the system had completed a series of tests. By 2024 the system was on schedule to be deployed in 2025. Rafael showcased both Iron Beam and Lite Beam at AUSA in 2024. Lite Beam is a 10 Kw laser that can be mounted on vehicles. Iron Beam-M uses has a 50 Kw laser.
When Iron Beam does officially come online, Rafael Chairman Yuval Steinitz said that it “will undoubtedly be a game-changer with an unprecedented impact on the modern battlefield.”
Daniel Gold, the head of DDR&D said Israel is the first country in the world to “demonstrate large-scale operational laser interception capabilities.”
“The lessons learned will be applied as we deploy more operational laser systems. Laser interception systems will provide an additional layer within Israel’s multi-tiered air defense array,” Gold noted, according to the ministry’s statement.
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