WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF
DEW weapons are now on the battlefield, they are low cost, and increasingly powerful.
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After years of development the first Iron Beam laser defense system was deployed by Israel on Sunday. This 100kW laser weapon, which is one of the world’s most powerful DEW weapons, thus became the world’s first high-power drone defense zapper to be operationally deployed in wartime. Iron Beam lasers will fortify Israel’s multi-layered defense, complementing the existing Iron Dome, David’s Sling, and Arrow system architecture.
The Iron Beam is a short-range line-of-sight laser interceptor that is extremely cheap to run and, therefore, perfectly suited for intercepting low-cost, high-volume threats. According to the official Israeli announcement, Iron Beam systems have “successfully intercepted rockets, mortars, and UAVs.”
A complex mix of government, military, scientific, and commercial interests were responsible for the research and development of the Iron Beam laser system. Central to the Iron Beam are “an advanced laser source and a unique electro-optical targeting system, enabling the interception of a wide range of targets at an enhanced operational range, with maximum precision and superior efficiency,” boasted the press release by Israel’s MoD. Moreover, it works “at a negligible marginal cost, which constitutes the laser system’s primary advantage.”
We don’t get much more by way of technical details, perhaps understandably. However, Rafael Advanced Defense Systems execs heralded the system’s “unique adaptive optics technology,” in what it calls “the world’s most advanced laser-based system for intercepting aerial threats.” Its operational debut “marks the beginning of the era of high-energy laser defense,” they claimed.
We have seen low-energy laser defense systems deployed earlier this year, with Japan’s NTT using relatively puny lasers to scare birds away from poultry farms and prevent the spread of avian flu. But the Iron Beam is in a different league.
We also previously reported on several other UK laser weapons under development to counter UAVs on land and at sea. But as far as we know, these are yet to become operational. With the brutal war between Ukraine and Russia ongoing, where drones have grown to be a pivotal feature of the conflict, forces have gone as far as creating rotating barbed wire barriers to deter them. So, laser-drone defenses similar to the Iron Beam are going to be in strong demand in the future.
What is the Iron Beam laser defense system and how does it counter short-range threats? Iron Beam is the world’s first operational 100kW high-power laser defense system developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems to intercept UAVs, rockets, and mortars. Recently deployed by Israel in wartime, it utilizes high-energy fiber lasers and adaptive optics to neutralize threats with pinpoint accuracy. The system’s primary advantage is its economic efficiency, operating at a negligible marginal cost of roughly $2.00 per shot, which eliminates the “cost-per-kill” imbalance typical of traditional missile interceptors.
