by Yonah Jeremy Bob
The Defense Ministry says Iron Beam is now operational at scale, offering low-cost laser interception of drones, rockets, missiles, and mortars, and reducing reliance on costly interceptors.
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The Iron Beam laser-based, air-defense system has been deployed in the field, the Defense Ministry reported Sunday.
In June, the Defense Ministry and Rafael – the lead company among several defense technology firms, including Elbit, which provides core aspects of the laser itself – announced that Lite Beam, a smaller relative of Iron Beam, was operational.
In mid-September, the Defense Ministry announced that Iron Beam was operational, and that a full series of batteries would be deployed throughout the country to provide cutting-edge air-defense capabilities within the coming months.
On December 1, the head of the Defense Ministry’s Directorate of Defense, Research and Development (DDR&D), Brig.-Gen. (res.) Daniel Gold, announced that full deployment would take place by December 30.
In June, the Defense Ministry disclosed that Israeli laser defense systems had shot down around 40 Hezbollah drones in October 2024.
In addition to being able to shoot down drones, Iron Beam can also defend against missiles, rockets, and mortars. That makes it far more formidable than if it were only capable of shooting down drones, which are relatively slow-moving threats.
The announcement also means that Iron Beam batteries will be produced and dispersed around the country at scale, as opposed to serving in just one or two locations where their impact would take time to be judged.
The Defense Ministry and the IDF expect Iron Beam to immediately reduce the cost of intercepting aerial threats, a major challenge for Israel during the recent war, when tens of thousands of projectiles were launched from six fronts.
Firing Arrow interceptors can cost millions of shekels, and Iron Dome interceptors can cost tens of thousands of shekels. Firing the Iron Beam is as cheap as turning a light on.
Baram: Iron Beam is foundation stone to start the process
Defense Ministry Director-General Maj.-Gen. (res.) Amir Baram previously said Iron Beam would lay the foundation stone to start the process, which will change battle zones worldwide until they become invariably filled with cheaper laser platforms.SECURITY OFFICIALS said Iron Beam also has the capacity to take on barrages of simultaneous aerial threats and is not merely limited to shooting down one or two at a time.
“As Israel’s laser house, Elbit Systems is proud of its strategic partnership with the Defense Ministry and welcomes the delivery of the Or Eitan system to the IDF,” Elbit Systems president and CEO Bezhalel Machlis said. “The company continues its work on the development of high-power laser solutions for military applications, with a focus on an airborne laser that may bring a strategic shift in air-defense capabilities.”
Brig.-Gen. Yehuda Elmakayes, the head of DDR&D’s Research and Development Division, previously said the Knesset had already approved an extensive budget two years ago to cover as many Iron Beam batteries as will be needed at this stage of deployment.
In June, IDF M.-Sgt. “A” told The Jerusalem Post in an exclusive interview that his time on the laser team protecting the country with this game-changing, cutting-edge system had been incredible.
“A” is a reservist who was stationed in the North to work on how to operate the laser in real combat situations. He had spent time in the IDF’s air-defense units, mostly more than a decade ago, but returned to assist when the current war broke out.
“A” said he and everyone else had to learn how to best operate the laser in real time in the field, since it is essentially something that no one has ever done before.
“We received the system, we made adjustments while operating in the field, and we improved with the industry developers [Rafael] after we got a better understanding of what we needed to increase our shoot-down success,” he said.
Defense sources previously said the new family of lasers could eliminate the need for Israelis to run to bomb shelters against most aerial threats.
A major advantage of lasers, Iron Beam, Iron Beam M, and Lite Beam is that they can shoot down enemy rockets and drones much earlier in the threat process, the sources said. This means that most of the time, no air-raid sirens or bomb shelters would be necessary.
How does it work?
Because laser light travels at the speed of light, much faster than any interceptor, Iron Beam can potentially neutralize aerial threats almost immediately after launch, often while they are still over enemy territory.
In fact, because the laser fires so much faster, the IDF will also likely have more chances to hit a target if it initially misses.
That means Israelis would likely only hear an air-raid siren and need to run to bomb shelters in rare cases when the laser system missed its target multiple times.
Lite Beam is the smallest and most local short-range system of Israel’s three laser systems, which can be placed on individual ground forces’ vehicles and fires a 10-kilowatt beam.
Iron Beam M fires a 250-mm., 50-kilowatt beam and can be mounted on large trucks for mobility, but it cannot be placed as a minor additional system on individual vehicles.
Sources have also indicated that in addition to generally being mobile, Iron Beam M can even be fired while moving.
The full-size Iron Beam fires a 450-mm., 100-kW beam, is designed to remain stationary for periods of time, and cannot be fired while moving. With advance planning, however, it can be moved around just like Iron Dome batteries.
Iron Beam was a major addition to the IDF’s already extensive and multilayered air-defense systems, Gold said, adding that Israel must maintain technological superiority for its security, and that it is already working on more advanced, later versions of Iron Beam for the future.
Rafael chairman Yuval Steinitz said: “Israel has become the first country in the world to field an operational laser system for the interception of aerial threats, including rockets and missiles. This milestone was made possible by Rafael’s unique adaptive optics technology, representing a global scientific breakthrough.”
Yonah Jeremy Bob
Source: https://www.jpost.com/defense-and-tech/article-881595
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