In a world-first, Israel has successfully used a high-powered laser to shoot down an enemy drone, marking a milestone in modern warfare and positioning the nation at the forefront of air defense technology.

The IDF announced Wednesday that a classified laser defense system—believed to be a variant of the Iron Beam—has quietly been shooting down dozens of aerial threats during the war, marking a major leap forward in futuristic battlefield tech.

According to the Defense Ministry, the Iron Beam and related laser defense systems, produced by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, are the most advanced operational lasers in the world, though the US, the UK, and others are also developing advanced laser technology.

The IDF announced that its Iron Beam-like laser defense system has shot down dozens of aerial threats during the war

Jerusalem Post reports: Sources have told the Post that what makes the Iron Beam the most advanced is its reliability in different kinds of weather, variable range, adaptability to different kinds of aerial threats, and the ability to place it in different contexts.

Other sources said that they could not reveal the name of the sister-laser system to the Iron Beam, whose progress was being publicly revealed on Wednesday.

In October 2024, Rafael announced that it was showcasing its latest defense capabilities at the AUSA defense exhibition October 14-16 in Washington, DC, including a new Lite Beam laser-based interception system integrated into the Trophy multitasking defense platform.

While not as much of a watershed moment as the Iron Beam, the Lite Beam is still a powerful example of Israel succeeding in using layers, at least for short-range defense.

Defense sources told the Post that the Lite Beam’s operational capabilities have been proven, though they declined to disclose exactly when and how the IDF has used such capabilities in the field in Gaza or Lebanon.

Lite Beam’s operational capabilities have been proven

The implication was that the Lite Beam would be effective against drones and possibly against mortars but would not shoot down most rockets or long-range missiles, which Israel eventually hopes the Iron Beam will do.

In general, laser defense technologies are viewed as a major part of future air defense because they would end the arms cost race in which Israel and other wealthy countries constantly waste huge amounts of money to protect themselves from weaker adversaries using cheap, low attack forms of threats.

Currently, Israel spends $50,000-100,000 on Iron Dome interceptors. Before the war, Hamas spent an estimated $300-800 on its cheaper rockets, with costs less well-known regarding some of its better rockets.

The sources added that the Lite Beam has hard kill neutralization capabilities, which can be integrated on any vehicular platform and operational capabilities, and that it can also be a component of the drone dome, which utilizes both soft kill and jamming.

Rafael said that the Lite Beam “offers advantages such as engagement at the speed of light, an unlimited magazine, and negligible cost per interception.”

In February 2023, senior Defense Ministry official Brig.-Gen. (res.) Danny Gold said Israel’s air defense lasers, when fully deployed in the future, could shoot down the drones Iran has been sending to Ukraine.