"The future will be based on directed energy," Patel told a meeting at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "Directed energy is the direction that [we] all need to invest in."
Patel explained that such development will be dictated by considerations of volume capabilities of energy as opposed to the much more limited and costly kinetically-delivered defense systems.
"We need to go into new technologies elsewhere," Patel said.
Israel was also preparing development systems to protect its population centers against attack by hypersonic weapon-delivered warheads, Patel also said.
Whatever the threat, Israel’s missile defense systems would be ready, Patel added.