Israel has revealed the launch date of a £413 million laser weapon, called Iron Beam, which uses extremely concentrated bursts of light to shoot down missiles, rockets and drones with almost no cost per shot.
The Iron Beam, manufactured by Israeli defense companies Rafael and Elbit, will be able to fire beams of light with between 100 kW and 150 kW of energy at targets several kilometers away with millimeter precision.
It also has a smaller secondary beam that it can use against drones and improvised explosive devices from a distance of between 100 and 2000 m.
The IDF, having signed a multi-million dollar agreement with the two companies, will present the Iron Beam to Israel on October 28 next year.
And it couldn’t come sooner, given that Iron Dome has been working overtime to stop missiles, rockets and drones from Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah and Yemen’s Houthis for more than a year.
While Israel plans to integrate the Iron Beam into its existing defense infrastructure, already believed to be among the most advanced in the world, the Iron Beam is expected to drive up the cost of defending the nation.
The Iron Beam, manufactured by Israeli defense companies Rafael and Elbit, will be able to fire beams of light with between 100 kW and 150 kW of energy at targets several kilometers away with millimeter precision.
The IDF, having signed a multi-million dollar agreement with the two companies, will present the Iron Beam to Israel on October 28 next year.
Israeli media report that a single Iron Dome intercept can cost around $50,000 (£39,000) per intercept, making it an incredibly expensive system to operate.
But firing the Iron Beam will cost only “a few dollars,” making it much cheaper to operate.
Other benefits include requiring less labor to operate and move, making it easier to conceal.
However, there is an important trade-off.
While the Iron Dome is an all-weather system, capable of defending against missiles and rockets in rain, fog, dust storms and low clouds, the Iron Beam can only be used effectively in dry conditions, as water particles in the air diffuse and absorb water. concentrated light.
There also needs to be a direct line of sight to targets, meaning there are limited places Iron Beam systems can be and it has a much slower rate of fire.
The Iron Beam will cost only “a few dollars” to fire, making it much cheaper to operate than the Iron Dome.
One test showed that it fired a missile into the air simply by shooting a light at it.
While Iron Dome missiles can destroy targets in an instant, Iron Beams often have to remain locked on their targets for several seconds.
While Iron Dome missiles can destroy targets in an instant, Iron Beams often have to remain locked on their targets for several seconds before being destroyed.
Israel has faced enormous internal pressure to bolster its defensive capabilities in recent weeks, given the outbreak of war with Hezbollah on its northern border with Lebanon, which is supported by Iran.
Today alone, the IDF said Hezbollah had fired a barrage of 115 missiles at them.
The Lebanese terrorist group said it had fired a salvo of advanced rockets toward a naval base in Haifa, northern Israel.
It comes as successive Israeli airstrikes hit Lebanon’s southern port city of Tire following an evacuation warning from the Israeli army for parts of the city, Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported.
Images released by local media and the Lebanese Civil Defense showed thick columns of smoke rising against the Mediterranean horizon, with fires and widespread destruction of residential buildings. No casualties have been reported immediately.
Members of the search and rescue team try to search for possible victims in a building damaged after an Israeli airstrike, in Tyre, Lebanon, on October 28, 2024.
Lebanese women walk past a building destroyed by an Israeli airstrike in Tyre, Lebanon, Monday, October 28, 2024.
Israel’s ”Iron Dome” air defense system exterminates missiles fired by Hezbollah as clashes between Hezbollah and the Israeli army continue in Haifa, Israel, on October 23, 2024.
Following the Israeli evacuation warning, Lebanese Civil Defense teams patrolled the city with loudspeakers, urging residents to leave the area immediately.
An Arabic-speaking spokesman for the Israeli military, Avichay Adraee, said in a post on the Aziz Unit.’
The Aziz unit is one of Hezbollah’s three military units and is responsible for the western sector of southern Lebanon. The Israeli army accused Hezbollah of launching operations from the Tire area into Israeli territory.
Egypt’s president on Monday called for coordinated international efforts to establish a ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon, a day after proposing a two-day ceasefire between Hamas and Israel.
Israel’s ”Iron Dome” air defense system exterminates missiles fired by Hezbollah as clashes between Hezbollah and the Israeli army continue in Haifa, Israel, on October 23, 2024.
People take cover as a siren warns of incoming rockets during the funeral of Alexei Popov, who was killed during a rocket attack launched from Lebanon last weekend, at the Tel Regev cemetery on the outskirts of Haifa , northern Israel, on Monday, October 21. 2024
A rescuer uses an excavator to remove debris from buildings destroyed by Israeli airstrikes in Tyre, Lebanon, Monday, Oct. 28, 2024.
President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi’s comments came at a meeting in Cairo with Manfred Weber, president of the European People’s Party, the largest political group in the European Parliament.
“The president stressed the need for all international parties, including the European Union, to combine efforts to strongly push for a ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon,” El-Sissi’s office said in a statement. He also called on Israel to stop incursions into the occupied West Bank and allow the immediate and unrestricted delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza.
El-Sissi told reporters on Sunday that Egypt, a key mediator between Hamas and Israel, proposed a two-day ceasefire during which four hostages held in Gaza would be released.
He said the proposal, which aims to revive stalled negotiations, also includes the release of some Palestinian prisoners, the delivery of humanitarian aid to besieged Gaza and negotiations to make the ceasefire permanent.