The Israeli Ministry of Defense announced the successful test of Iron Beam, an anti-aircraft laser. Effectively, this system would also be the most economical ever created.
Money is still the soul of war, and sometimes entry-level civilian drones bought on e-commerce sites undermine the world’s largest armies, which must use expensive anti-aircraft batteries to bring them down. The Israelis have developed Iron Beam, a 100kW laser beam capable of destroying drones, missiles and mortars. Importantly, according to Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, each shot would only cost $3.50.
“This is the world’s first energy-based weapon system that uses a laser to shoot down incoming UAVs, missiles and mortars at a cost of $3.50 per shot. It may sound like sci-fi, but it’s real,” Naftali Bennett tweeted.
Tests were successfully conducted in the Negev. The video, produced by the IDF and released by the Prime Minister, shows the destruction of a missile, a grenade and an unmanned vehicle resembling Turkey’s Bayraktar drone. In a matter of seconds, they were shot into the sky by that laser beam.
This anti-aircraft system was developed by industrialist Rafael. Of course it doesn’t need ammo. A simple power supply is required to execute a shot that takes only a few seconds to fire. Installed on a vehicle, it can even move to organize mobile anti-aircraft defense.
Benny Gantz, Israeli Defense Minister, announced that “every effort will be made to make the system operational as soon as possible and to enable an effective, inexpensive and innovative protective screen”. Once operational, it could complement Iron Dome, Israel’s powerful anti-aircraft device.
An anti-drone laser tested in France
In the Middle East, the US military is increasingly confronted with attacks by civilian drones, named Costco after the discount chain. The Pentagon is trying to counter these new weapons that have been bought by mass dealers. Currently, the US Army uses the C-RAM Defense Batteries, radar-guided rapid-fire guns. When effective, they are expensive, tens of thousands of dollars per shot, and require a sufficient number of ammunition and therefore their transportation and storage.
The Pentagon is also working on anti-aircraft lasers. In an interview with i24News, Uzi Rubin, founder of the Israel Defense Missile Defense Organization, revealed that the United States is working on a laser with a power of 300 kW, three times that of Israel’s Iron Beam. Last summer, the US military presented tests of a laser with just 50 kW.
2021 announced France Helma-P successful trials, a 2 kW anti-drone laser developed by Cilas, a subsidiary of ArianeGroup. This device, which is still in the experimental phase, is expected to be operational from the 2024 Olympics to protect the event from overflights by civilian drones, sales of which have skyrocketed in recent years.
This portable system was presented to the Defense Innovation Forum last year in Paris. It comes in the form of a suitcase mounted on a tripod. It can detect, align, and track drones, eventually neutralizing them in mid-flight. Can it destroy a rocket or a grenade? The war in Ukraine could prompt litigation against Cilas and the DGA.
