Israel’s defence ministry announced on Monday the completion of a laser air defence system known as “Iron Beam”, which will be deployed by the end of December.<\/p>\n
“The Iron Beam laser system is expected to fundamentally change the rules of engagement on the battlefield,” Daniel Gold, head of defence ministry research and development, told a defence summit in Tel Aviv.<\/p>\n
“With development complete and a comprehensive testing programme that has validated the system’s capabilities,” he added, promising to deliver “initial operational capability” by the end of the year.<\/p>\n
The announcement comes as Israeli military steps up its strikes against the militant group Hezbollah and its infrastructure, despite a ceasefire that began just over a year ago.<\/p>\n
Contacted by AFP, the defence ministry refused to provide more details on what exactly would happen on that date.<\/p>\n
The announcement marks a major milestone in a project more than a decade old, developed jointly with the state-owned arms company Rafael and Israeli private defence group Elbit.<\/p>\n
The laser system seeks to enhance Israel’s interception of drones and other projectiles, and will supplement other aerial defence capacities such as the more well-known Iron Dome.<\/p>\n
Iron Dome offers short-range protection against missiles and rockets. The David’s Sling system and successive generations of Arrow missiles are Israeli-American technology built to bring down ballistic missiles.<\/p>\n
During the 12-day war launched by Israel against Iran in June, the country’s missile defence system failed to intercept all the projectiles fired by Tehran toward Israeli territory.<\/p>\n
Israel has since acknowledged being hit by more than 50 missiles during the war with Iran, resulting in 28 deaths.<\/p>\n
The new system is “a ground-based high-power laser air defence system designed to counter aerial threats”, Rafael said.<\/p>\n
The company added that the system has the “unique advantage of rapidly neutralising threats using laser technology at negligible cost”.<\/p>\n
dms-mj-raz\/rjm\/dc<\/p>\n
\u00a9 Agence France-Presse<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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