Israel delivers the first operational laser air-defence system in history

Israel has formally presented and delivered the first Iron Beam high-energy laser interception system to the IDF today, bringing laser air defence from experimentation into operational reality, the Ministry of Defence has announced.

The handover ceremony took place at Rafael Advanced Defence Systems’ headquarters in northern Israel.

The Iron Beam was produced following years of development led by the Israeli Ministry of Defence’s R&D directorate in partnership with Elbit Systems and other defense industries, including SCD and Shafir Systems.

Designed to intercept rockets, mortars, and unmanned aerial vehicles at short ranges, Iron Beam will be integrated into the Israeli Air Force as an additional layer of defence alongside Israel’s existing systems: Iron Dome, David’s Sling and Arrow.

According to defence officials, the system has already proven itself in an extensive series of trials, successfully intercepting multiple types of aerial threat under realistic operational conditions.

What sets Iron Beam apart, however, is its combination of a powerful laser source with advanced electro-optical tracking and adaptive optics.

This, according to the MoD, enables high-precision engagements at negligible marginal cost, about the price of electricity instead of thousands of dollars per launch, dramatically improving the cost-effectiveness balance against mass rocket and drone attacks.

Defence Minister Israel Katz described today’s delivery as a ‘historic milestone’, stating that, for the first time anywhere, a high-power laser system has reached full operational maturity.

He also said that Iron Beam ‘fundamentally alters the threat calculus’ and sends a clear strategic message to Israel’s adversaries that any attempt to overwhelm its defences will come at a high cost.