Israel’s Ministry of Defense (IMoD) has signed a $500 million-plus agreement with key weapons contractors Elbit and Rafael to realize the planned “Iron Beam” laser air defense system.
Believed to be based around 100 kilowatt-class fiber lasers, the Iron Beam system is intended to intercept aerial threats including rockets, mortars, and drones, at a much lower cost than the current “Iron Dome” approach, which relies on conventional kinetic interception with projectiles.
Announcing brief details of the latest agreement on its social media platforms, IMoD stated: “The Iron Beam system represents a global technological breakthrough, with its impressive interception capabilities demonstrated through a series of successful trials.
“The system is expected to integrate into Israel's multi-layered defense array as a complementary capability to the Iron Dome system. This integration will significantly enhance Israel's defense capabilities against current and future threats, offering lower operational costs.”
US support
In its own announcement, Elbit Systems said that it had been awarded approximately $200 million of the total to provide the required high-power lasers.
Elbit’s CEO Bezhalel Machlis commented: "As Israel's Laser Center and a global leader in high-power laser technology, Elbit Systems congratulates on the significant progress made in the "Iron Beam" project and is proud of its contribution to its success.
“The capabilities developed at Elbit Systems represent a leap forward in future defense against various threats.”
The latest development follows the $5.2 billion award of US aid for the Iron Dome, Iron Beam, and “David’s Sling” defense systems that was passed by Congress in April this year. That legislation stated that $1.2 billion would be specifically allocated to the Iron Beam project.
Speaking with investors shortly after that allocation Scott Keeney - the CEO of high-power fiber laser provider nLight - described the $1.2 billion supplement as a “very, very big catalyst” in the developing international market for laser weapons, with potential deployment in Ukraine as well as Israel.
And following IMoD’s announcement of the $500 million contract with Rafael and Elbit, nLight’s stock price jumped in value by around 20 per cent.
Laser limitations
According to Israeli media, IMoD has said that Iron Beam is slated to become operational by October 2025. The Times Of Israel also quotes figures from Tel Aviv think-tank the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) suggesting that each of the current Iron Dome’s interceptor munitions costs close to $50,000.
In contrast, the only direct cost of “ammunition” from Iron Beam would be the electricity required to operate the laser system - although the overall cost of its development runs to billions of dollars.
In a blog post on the INSS web site earlier this year, laser expert Yehoshua Kalisky also warned of Iron Beam’s likely limitations, writing:
“It should be noted that the laser weapon has a fundamental flaw that arises from environmental conditions, such as cloudiness, haze, rain, or smoke, which significantly decreases its power when passing through the atmosphere and therefore limits its operational effectiveness.
“A tactical laser weapon appears to be an optimal solution against suicide drones or UAVs, while combined systems that integrate lasers and powerful microwave transmitters seem to be the most effective against aerial threats, especially swarms of UAVs and drones.”
