Laser Weapons Are Finally Real: The Iron Beam Era of Israel

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"... Israel's Iron Beam began life in 1996 as a joint US/Israel project. Originally conceived as a chemical deuterium fluoride laser, it swapped over to solid-state, electrically-powered, ytterbium-doped lasers when it moved to Rafael Advanced Defense Systems.

In 2024, recent conflicts resulted in the system being fast tracked for combat duty to intercept hostile drones and missiles and now it has been officially integrated into Israel's armed forces as the innermost layer of the air defenses tasked with intercepting short-range threats, including rockets and mortars. ...

Currently, there are about 17 tactical lasers that are operational, combat-cleared, field tested, or under development. With the advantages of a weapon that can engage targets at the speed of light, has an infinite ammo magazine, and costs the famous "dollar-a-shot" to operate, there's a lot of incentive to bring these online.

It's an incentive that's so great that the Royal Navy has pushed its schedule forward to field its Dragonfire laser to 2027 and others are likely also to see the fast track in the near future. In the short term, these systems will be used to counter drones as well as rockets, mortars, and other close-in aerial threats. ..."

Laser Weapons Are Finally Real: The Iron Beam Era "The future arrived on December 28, 2025 as the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) announced that Iron Beam became the first high-energy tactical laser weapon to be fully integrated and cleared for operations in a national defense array. And it's not alone."

The Iron Beam Laser