Israel Becomes First Country to Shoot Down Enemy Drones with Lasers

The IDF announced on May 28 that a classified laser defence system – believed to be a variant of the Iron Beam – has quietly been shooting down dozens of aerial threats during the war, marking a major leap forward in futuristic battlefield tech.

According to the Defence Ministry, the Iron Beam and related laser defence systems, produced by Rafael Advanced Defence Systems, are the most advanced operational lasers in the world, though the US, the UK, and others are also developing advanced laser technology.

Jerusalem Post reports: Sources have told the Post that what makes the Iron Beam the most advanced is its reliability in different kinds of weather, variable range, adaptability to different kinds of aerial threats, and the ability to place it in different contexts.

Other sources said that they could not reveal the name of the sister-laser system to the Iron Beam.

In October 2024, Rafael announced that it was showcasing its latest defence capabilities at the AUSA defence exhibition October 14-16 in Washington, DC, including a new Lite Beam laser-based interception system integrated into the Trophy multitasking defence platform.

While not as much of a watershed moment as the Iron Beam, the Lite Beam is still a powerful example of Israel succeeding in using layers, at least for short-range defence.

Defence sources told the Post that the Lite Beam’s operational capabilities have been proven, though they declined to disclose exactly when and how the IDF has used such capabilities in the field in Gaza or Lebanon.

The implication was that the Lite Beam would be effective against drones and possibly against mortars but would not shoot down most rockets or long-range missiles, which Israel eventually hopes the Iron Beam will do.

In general, laser defence technologies are viewed as a major part of future air defence because they would end the arms cost race in which Israel and other wealthy countries constantly waste huge amounts of money to protect themselves from weaker adversaries using cheap, low attack forms of threats.

Currently, Israel spends $50,000-100,000 on Iron Dome interceptors. Before the war, Hamas spent an estimated $300-800 on its cheaper rockets, with costs less well-known regarding some of its better rockets.

The sources added that the Lite Beam has hard kill neutralization capabilities, which can be integrated on any vehicular platform, and that it can also be a component of the drone dome, which utilizes both soft kill and jamming.

Rafael said that the Lite Beam “offers advantages such as engagement at the speed of light, an unlimited magazine, and negligible cost per interception.”

yogaesoteric
June 7, 2025