Israel unveils 'Iron Beam' laser weapon while achieving record $15B arms sales

Israel isn’t the world’s astir fashionable country, but erstwhile it comes to subject hardware. A state the size of New Jersey is present the world’s 8th largest arms exporter with a record-breaking $15 cardinal successful income successful 2024.

Behind Britain, but up of Turkey and South Korea successful overseas arms sales, governments are flocking to Israel to bargain battle-tested weapons, particularly rockets from its vaunted Iron Dome rocket defence system.

Europe accounts for astir of the income – Germany and Finland being the largest, but India, Thailand, and Greece are buyers arsenic well. Even Muslim bulk countries — Morocco, the UAE and Bahrain bargain missiles, drones and cybersecurity systems from the Jewish state. 

The grounds income travel arsenic Israel unveils its latest weapon. The Iron Beam is simply a laser susceptible of knocking retired incoming missiles, mortar rounds and drones up to six miles distant for arsenic small arsenic $2 per interception. By contrast, interceptor missiles typically outgo anyplace from $100,000 to $1 cardinal apiece.

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Rafael Lite Beam, Iron Beam -M (250) and Iron Beam (450) High Energy Laser Weapon Systems (HELWS) are displayed during the Security Equipment International (DSEI) astatine London Excel connected September 10, 2025 successful London, England. (John Keeble/Getty Images)

"With the laser, the lone outgo is electricity," says Yuval Steinitz, president of Rafael Defense Industries, shaper of the Iron Beam. "It is similar betwixt $1 and $2— little than the terms of a blistery canine successful New York."

Unlike accepted rocket interceptors, accelerated arsenic they are, instrumentality time. A laser travels astatine the velocity of light.

"We person already utilized it against UAVs launched by Hezbollah successful the northbound and missiles from Iran. It works," says University of Tel Aviv prof Issac Ben-David. "The astir important vantage is, erstwhile you spot the target, it is intercepted astatine the velocity of light. It takes a fraction of a 2nd and the laser is already destroying it."

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The Iron Beam is simply a laser susceptible of destroying incoming missiles, mortar rounds and drones up to six miles away. (Israel Ministry of Defense)

After decades of failed tests by aggregate nations, Israel is the archetypal state to successfully usage the limb successful war.  One of those who oversaw improvement was Prof. Issac Ben-David, erstwhile caput of probe and improvement astatine Israel’s Ministry of Defense.

Israel volition deploy the archetypal Iron Beam systems successful the north, wherever Hezbollah rockets fired successful confederate Lebanon instrumentality nether a infinitesimal to transverse the Israeli border. Applications volition grow to see ships and circumstantial aerial bases.

"This is conscionable the opening of a caller era," says Steinitz. "In time, possibly 5 years, it volition alteration america to sprout down each hostile entity successful the aerial astir Israel. It’s truly a crippled changer."

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Israel’s Iron Beam laser strategy targets and disables incoming missiles, mortar occurrence and drones astatine ranges up to six miles. (Israel Ministry of Defense)

Rafael developed the exertion with U.S.-based Lockheed Martin and $1.2 cardinal from the Pentagon. Steinitz says the exertion is already being shared with the U.S. Army’s ain directed vigor program.

"We cannot bash without the United States," helium said. "But sometimes successful a partnership, adjacent the dwarf tin lend to the giant."