Peloni: This technology has the potential of completely changing the existing operational battlefield strategies which are significantly designed around the use of drone technology. Sort of a technological Titan used to sley or at least diminish another technological Titan. As discussed in the report below, it has long been anticipated that this technology was within sight, so hopefully this latest report is more accurate than previous reports in making the claim of it being available within a years time.
Testing of Israel’s laser system by the Defense Ministry’s Directorate of Research and Development and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems. (Photo: Israeli Defense Ministry)
Defense Minister Israel Katz announced on Sunday that the Rafael-produced Iron Beam laser air defense system will be operational in approximately nine months, before the end of the year.
Last October 2024, Eyal Zamir, then director-general of the Ministry of Defense, stated that the Iron Beam would be ready to deploy within a year – placing its launch roughly seven months from now. The latest confirmation, coming four months after Zamir’s statement, adds weight to the timeline, especially considering that previous Israeli timelines have frequently been seen as ambitious or unrealistic.
In October 2024, Zamir signed a deal worth approximately NIS 2 billion (about $500 million) to expand the production of the first Israeli-developed laser interception system.
As part of the agreement between the Defense Ministry, Rafael Advanced Defense Systems – the primary developer of the Iron Beam – and Elbit Systems, production rates for the Iron Beam laser defense systems will be significantly ramped up to achieve high-output manufacturing.
The Iron Beam is the result of more than three decades of collaboration between the research and development unit at the Directorate of Defense, Research & Development (abbreviated Maf’at in Hebrew), together with Rafael and Elbit, Israel’s top two defense companies.
There has been much anticipation for Israel’s newest weapon of defense. Several prominent Israeli leaders previously predicted a much faster deployment than what has materialized.
In February 2022, then-Prime Minister Naftali Bennett predicted that the Iron Beam would be operational within a year, following successful field tests.
A year later, in January 2023, former IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kohavi took a more cautious stance. Speaking to The Jerusalem Post, he projected that the laser defense system would be deployed to counter aerial threats from Gaza by January 2025.
Then, in August 2023, Rafael Chairman Yuval Steinitz said that the laser would be ready within one year.
All of these predictions have surpassed their originally announced timelines.
Katz made his remarks about the Iron Beam during a visit to Rafael’s facilities, where he also praised the defense-tech giant for its role in developing the Iron Dome and David’s Sling, key components of Israel’s missile defense system.
While the Iron Beam is reportedly effective against drones, the Defense Ministry and the IDF are also evaluating about a dozen other defense solutions to address the distinct challenges posed by drones, which differ from those of rockets and missiles.
In the future, there are hopes to equip Israeli Air Force jets with laser defense systems, however, this is expected to take significantly longer, with estimates ranging from five to 10 more years.
Additionally, Katz issued a warning to Israel’s enemies, stating that if they dared to raise a “hand” against the country – symbolizing an attack – Israel has “many tools to strike them back with a decisive blow… this hand will be cut off.”
The system identifies a threat and instantaneously decides whether to take it out with the laser or instead shoot a missile at it. From what I have read, the laser is the choice about 95% of the time.
It is not a steady huge powerful beam but rather something like small pulses of lasers at high speed intervals with instant feedback to and from the target. The atmosphere prevents a huge powerful steady beam by making it ineffective.
Read about it here:
https://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/articles/2025/1/29/israels-iron-beam-set-for-historic-deployment
I hope that this new technology can be used to some effect, but it represents just the first baby steps in directed energy weapons. Not only must the weapon itself be effective, but even more important is the ability to acquire and track targets. Low-flying, contour hugging drones will be especially difficult to intercept. Miniaturized lasers must be developed so that they can be mounted on vehicles in the field. It’s always a race between measures and counter-measures. One question I would ask about the Iron Beam defense is if it is cost-effective, or is it cost-prohibitive. In other words, is it practical?
It looks like they mean this year instead of last year. I’d love to see the testing phase in action – there seem to be plenty of targets available. It will also be interesting to see what kind of targets will be selected. Maybe an armored vehicle could be selected too which would cause a significant change to the activities on the battlefield. There are more possible targets to consider like boobytraps which could explode when lasered.
Katz should have finished that last statement with “….this hand will be cut off….Beep Beep”.