Latest news with #IronBeamM
India.com
21-07-2025
- Politics
- India.com
Meet Israel's new laser weapon, a game changer weapon which will replace Iron Dome, bad news for Iran, Hamas due to...
Meet Israel's new laser weapon, a game changer weapon which will replace Iron Dome, bad news for Iran, Hamas due to... Tel Aviv: Last month, Israel gave details about its new powerful weapon, which has the capability to change aerial warfare. The weapon is capable of detecting and destroying drones, fighter jets, and missiles that come in its range. Tel Aviv has said that it has developed not one but three laser weapons to strengthen its air defence. The names of these laser weapons are Iron Beam, Iron Beam M, and Light Beam. Notably, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) have already successfully tested it against Hezbollah's drone attack. The country also informed that the laser platform will be fully deployed by the end of 2025. This weapon is being said to completely change Israel's security. Let's know more. Much Cheaper Than Iron Dome Israel's most popular and promising air defence system is Iron Dome. We have all seen videos of Iron Dome destroying enemy's rockets, drones and missiles. The air defence system works against short-range rockets, missiles or drones but its quite expensive. The current cost of Iron Dome interceptor is between USD40,000 and USD100,000 to Israel. On the contrary, Iron Beam, Iron Beam M (mobile) and Light Beam's operating cost is almost zero as these systems don't use any explosive; they use electricity to create laser beam. Dangerous To The Enemy Laser weapons offer a significant advantage over systems like Iron Dome by intercepting missiles and rockets at much earlier stages of their flight due to the speed of light. Their ability to fire multiple beams simultaneously expands defensive coverage. This improved interception capability has the potential to dramatically enhance domestic security. Issues With Laser Weapons Lasers air defence systems are still useless against enemy ballistic missiles due to their limited range. The laser weapon can focus on slow targets not on highspeed ballistic missile. On the other hand, Arrow-2 and Arrow-3 missile defence systems intercept ballistic missiles at high altitudes. The effectiveness of lasers is majorly reduced by atmospheric distance, weather conditions, and cloud cover.
Yahoo
04-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Rafael: Iron Beam, other lasers could end most runs to bomb shelters
According to Rafael, a major advantage of its lasers is that they can shoot down enemy rockets and drones much earlier in the threat process. Rafael's new family of lasers, which started to be rolled out last week and will continue to be presented to the public by the end of 2025, could eliminate the need for Israelis to run to bomb shelters versus most aerial threats, the defense company revealed on Wednesday. According to Rafael, a major advantage of its 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, such that most of the time, no siren warnings or bomb shelters would be necessary. This is because the light energy of the laser travels much faster than any interceptor in Israel's arsenal and would already potentially destroy the enemy aerial threat shortly after it launches, and invariably while still in enemy territory. Only in those rare cases where the laser system missed its target, and likely missed it multiple times since there should be time for multiple shoot-down attempts, would a siren warning and running to bomb shelters be necessary. Rafael's presentation of the three different laser systems comes as it expects to display the laser's capabilities in a defense technology conference in Paris in 10 days, and is the first time that it has formally mentioned the Iron Beam M – a mobile version of the Iron Beam. In addition, Rafael also discussed a variety of specific details regarding these various laser models. The Lite Beam is the smallest and most local short-range system, which can be placed on individual ground forces vehicles and fires a 10-kilowatt beam. Iron Beam M fires a 250 millimeter 50 kilowatt beam and can be mounted on large trucks for mobility, but cannot be placed as a minor additional system on individual vehicles.. Finally, the full-size Iron Beam fires a 450 millimeter 100 kilowatt beam and is designed to remain stationary for periods of time, though it can, with advance planning, be moved around just as Iron Dome batteries, over time, can be moved around. Although Raytheon in the US, as well as England, Russia, China, Germany, and Japan, are all at various stages of developing laser defense systems, Rafael said that it is the only company that has moved beyond test firings to actual use in the field. Last week, the Defense Ministry revealed that a version of Lite Beam had been used close to 40 times to shoot down Hezbollah drones during the course of the war, and especially in the fall of 2024. Questioned about potential future applications, Rafael sources said that it would take a significant amount of time to adapt lasers for use by Israeli aircraft. There are many challenges with using lasers relating to turbulence, dust, clouds, and smoke, which are a partial issue even when the end target is up in the sky, but are a larger issue when the starting point is up in the sky. Also, if laser systems firing at enemy aerial threats must consider additional objects that could get hit by the laser after it continues through the object it hits, those considerations are much more complex for any aircraft firing on ground targets. Due to that and other considerations, the impression was that the IDF has not even made it a priority to achieve such laser aircraft capabilities for the foreseeable future, though all of that could change once the IDF sees more laser defense systems in action at the end of 2025. It was unclear how quickly Rafael could roll out a larger volume of lasers, something which took years with Iron Dome, even after the initial defense batteries were produced and deployed. While laser systems are a big improvement over Iron Dome for reducing the cost of each shoot-down attempt – Iron Dome costs around $40,000 per interceptor, and each laser shot should cost around $3 – building each laser defense battery is still very expensive. Another major advantage of laser systems over Iron Dome, according to Rafael, is that there are many fewer logistics. Iron Dome interceptors are not just a cost, and they are a huge separate logistical operation to move around and store. In contrast, laser defense systems do not need additional physical storage space for their "interceptor" because it is just made up of light energy created when the system fires. Rafael Chairman, Dr. Yuval Steinitz, said, "Israel is the first country in the world to transform high-power laser technology into a fully operational system – and to execute actual combat interceptions. We are extremely proud of Rafael's achievement in leading this operational and technological breakthrough. Based on its unique development of adaptive optics, Rafael's Iron Beam system will undoubtedly be a game-changer with an unprecedented impact on the modern battlefield." In addition, Rafael sources said that the laser breakthrough was larger than the Iron Dome breakthrough because it is a multi-disciplinary scientific human breakthrough with wide applications in many fields. In other words, lasers have been used for some decades for very short-range functions, like eye surgery at a range of a matter of centimeters. But now that Israel has shown lasers can be used at a much farther distance, there will be many other military and non-military applications. Rafael CEO, Yoav Tourgeman, stated, "Rafael is leading the energy weapon revolution, with operational laser systems among the most advanced of their kind worldwide. The ingenuity and boldness of Rafael's top scientists and the company's massive investment in R&D have resulted in a monumental operational and technological accomplishment. "Later this year, we will deliver the first Iron Beam system from Rafael's production lines to the IMOD. This system will fundamentally change the defense equation by enabling fast, precise, cost-effective interceptions, unmatched by any existing system," continued Tourgeman.
