Israel becomes the first country to down drones in combat with a laser weapon

Business Insider

2 days ago

Israel's military used new laser weapons to kill enemy drones, making it the first country to do so in a war.
It marks a major development in the fielding and use of these experimental weapons, which militaries worldwide are developing to deepen their defenses against drones and missiles, reducing the strain on other missiles and other projectiles.
Israel's Ministry of Defense announced that soldiers from Israeli Air Force Aerial Defense Array deployed and operated a high-power laser system prototype, which successfully intercepted enemy threats. It is a big step closer to strategists' vision of a future battlefield where the expanding threat of missiles and drones can be countered by the zaps of laser weapons that have an unlimited magazine.
A video shared by the Israeli Ministry of Defense showed the laser systems in action, in at least 3 interceptions. One engagement shows the laser igniting the drone's wingtip, causing it to spiral and crash.
Brig. Gen. Yehuda Elmakayes, head of the ministry's defense and research directorate, said prototypes have previously been deployed "culminating in the world's first successful high-power laser interceptions on the battlefield."
Feedback from the use of the weapons will continue to inform their use and development, he and other officials said in a statement shared with BI.
The systems are made by Israeli-based defense company Rafael Advanced Defense Systems. They're directed energy weapons that point an intense beam of light at a target and use heat to damage or destroy it; these processes demand pinpoint accuracy and high power.
The defense ministry said the weapons "complement the more powerful Iron Beam system," a larger network of similar systems that's in the works.
Iron Beam is estimated to cost $500 million and would add another layer to Israel's layered air defenses — one especially useful against the kinds of drones that Hamas and Hezbollah wield.
Laser weapons have been a priority for militaries around world, especially in the Middle East, where countries are racing to field the technology. Besides Israel, Saudia Arabia is using Chinese systems to develop laser air defense capacities, while the United Arab Emirates is working on its own system.
The US, too, is actively working on laser prototypes, such as the AN/SEQ-3 Laser Weapon System made by Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, as well as microwave emitters and other directed-energy weapons.
Officials have suggested lasers are particularly useful for taking out cheaper enemy targets like drones rather than expending expensive missile interceptors. That's been at the forefront of conversations around conflicts in waters around the Middle East, where the US has expended over a billion dollars in munitions to shoot down Houthi drones.
With Israel's landmark use of the weapon, Rafael CEO Yoav Tourgeman said the system "will fundamentally change the defense equation by enabling fast, precise, cost-effective interceptions, unmatched by any existing system."
There remain issues, though, surrounding the amount of power and accuracy needed for a laser to destroy its target.
Lasers have struggled to work around water or through clouds or smoke, because moisture or other particles diffuse the laser's beam. And even a functional laser weapon requires a high-voltage energy source and an accurate sensor system that are likely to become targets of attack.