Israeli Army IDF expects to deploy new Rafael Iron Beam laser air defense system this year 1301154

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Military Defense Industry Technology - Iron Beam
 
Israeli Army (IDF) expects to deploy new Rafael Iron Beam laser air defense system this year.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is expected to deploy the world’s first laser-based air defense system this year. The new system, known as “Iron Beam,” was developed by Israeli defense contractor Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd. As the system is still in development, it has not yet been determined how it might fit into Israel's multi-tiered missile defence system that includes Iron Dome, David's Sling, and Arrow 3.
     
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is expected to deploy the world’s first laser-based air defense system this year. The new system, known as “Iron Beam,” was developed by Israeli defense contractor Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd. As the system is still in development, it has not yet been determined how it might fit into Israel's multi-tiered missile defence system that includes Iron Dome, David's Sling, and Arrow 3. Iron Beam is a laser air defense system currently in development by Israeli defense contractor Rafael Advanced Defense Systems
     

The weapon system will extend the ability of the IDF to protect Israeli civilians from Palestinian Hamas militants rocket attacks by using a laser to target and “bring down like flies” short-range rockets, artillery shells, and mortar bombs with trajectories too small for Israel’s famed Iron Dome anti-rocket batteries to engage and intercept effectively.

Both the Iron Dome interceptor and the new Iron Beam system are manufactured by the state-owned Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd. in a project funded by the Israeli Ministry of Defense and extensively underwritten by the U.S.

Rafael officials said the new system was the result of five years of research and development in solid-state laser. It was enthusiastically touted by a spokesperson for Rafael, Amit Zimmer, as the real-life version of futuristic “Star Wars” technology.

High energy laser weapons destroy targets by super-heating so that the target disintegrates in an instant, according to Rafael spokesperson, Zimmer.

The Iron Beam air defense system will employ a “directed high energy” fiber optic laser beam to intercept rocket and missile threats with trajectories covering ranges of up to seven kilometers (4.5 miles). The laser system, cued by a mobile surveillance and tracking system, is able to destroy airborne targets within five seconds of firing.

At Singapore AirShow in 2014, the Israeli Company Rafael Advanced Defense Systems has unveiled its Iron Beam high-energy laser (HEL) system designed to defeat rockets, mortars, and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) at short ranges.

The mobile Iron Beam battery is comprised of an air defence radar, a command and control (C2) unit, and two HEL systems, Senderovits Ezra, deputy general manager of marketing and business development at Rafael, explained. The company-supplied imagery of the truck-mounted battery shows these various components housed in ISO shipping containers, although the actual configuration of the Iron Beam would depend on the customer's requirements.