Israel’s high-powered laser interception system, dubbed "Iron Beam," will be delivered to the military at the end of the month, the head of the Defense Ministry’s Directorate of Defense Research and Development said Monday.
Speaking at the DefenseTech Summit, DDR&D head Danny Gold said that "with development complete and a comprehensive testing program that has validated the system’s capabilities, we are prepared to deliver initial operational capability to the IDF on December 30, 2025."
The Iron Beam has been in development for over a decade, after it was first unveiled in 2014. It was declared operational in September after completing development and final tests.
"The Iron Beam laser system is expected to fundamentally change the rules of engagement on the battlefield. Simultaneously, we are already advancing the next-generation systems," Gold said, speaking at the International DefenseTech Summit led by the DDR&D, in collaboration with the Blavatnik Cyber Research Center at Tel Aviv University.
During the conflict with Hezbollah, which ended in a ceasefire last November, the IDF’s newly revived 946th Air Defense Battalion, which operates anti-drone systems, used a lower-powered and shorter-range version of the system to shoot down some 35 drones launched at northern Israel from Leb
...Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects....The Iron Beam, developed by Rafael Advanced Systems Ltd., is not meant to replace the Iron Dome or Israel’s other air defense systems, but to supplement and complement them, shooting down smaller projectiles and leaving larger ones for the more robust missile-based batteries such as the David’s Sling and Arrow systems.