Rafael Advanced Defense Systems chairman Yuval Steinitz revealed on Sunday that Israel will have partial laser defenses this time next year.
"One year from now – Israel will be the first country to have partial laser protection. In two years there may be complete protection – against missiles, shells, rockets, or anything else. This will protect us both in the South and in the North," said Steinitz.
“The laser-defense system is truly great news. It will be both land- and air-based. I do want to be cautious regarding time frames. In another two years, we expect to deploy systems along the Gaza Strip border to test this tool’s effectiveness,” outgoing Israel Defense Forces (IDF) chief of staff Aviv Kohavi said this past January.
“It has worked very well in field tests. If this experiment works – and we continue to integrate and enhance the laser-defense system over two years – we will move as fast as possible to deploy it across the entire North. I cannot commit to a specific number of years. I don’t want to be optimistic and I also don’t want to be pessimistic.”
The Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Iron Beam has been in development for nearly 20 years, and will be integrated directly into the Rafael-made Iron Dome air defense batteries. Thus far, the Iron Dome has intercepted about 95% of aerial threats fired from Gaza.
Insiders have reported that by attaching the Iron Beam system, the IDF expects to save money as the laser costs just a “few dollars to fire,” and does not need to be restocked compared to the cost of a Tamir interceptor, which is $50,000. The laser is also capable of striking its target within seconds.
One drawback to the laser system, however, is that it has a shorter range than Israel’s Iron Dome, and can only hit targets located five to six miles away (eight to 10 kilometers). The laser can also engage just a single target at a time, whereas the Iron Dome can intercept multiple threats at once. The executive vice president of Rafael’s land and naval division, Ran Gozali, boasted the laser beam can be focused to the “diameter of a coin in a 10-kilometer range.”
Other countries have closely watched the development of the Israeli defense systems. In December of 2022, the US aerospace, arms and defense company Lockheed Martin announced a partnership agreement with Rafael, asking the firm to build and export a similar version of the laser system for the US.