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Order Michael Finch’s new book, A Time to Stand: HERE. Prof. Jason Hill calls it “an aesthetic and political tour de force.”
The Israelis, having been stung by the embargos, both partial and full, on weapons sales to Israel put in place by Spain, the U.K., France, and previously by the Biden administration, are keen to become as independent as possible in the manufacture of weapons the country needs. The Israelis are constantly working to improve their weaponry, both as to performance and as to cost.
The Israeli defense industry, led by the big three — Rafael, Elbit, and Israel Aircraft Industries — keeps on coming up with new weapons, such as the laser-based anti-missile weapon, the Iron Beam, that will cost only a few dollars as compared to the tens of thousands for the Iron Dome that does the same thing, and in improving those it already possesses.
The Iron Dome anti-missile system, first introduced in 2006, has been impressive enough, capable of intercepting more than 90% of the missiles launched toward Israel. However, it is expensive: each interception requires the firing of two Tamir missiles. Each Tamir missile costs $40,000, meaning that each interception costs $80,000.
But now, the Israeli scientists at Rafael and Elbit have developed a high-energy laser system, the Iron Beam, that will reduce the cost of such interceptions to the scarcely-believed price of two dollars. Israel’s multi-layered anti-missile defense array now includes the Iron Dome, the David’s Sling, the Arrow 2 and 3, and the newest component, that laser-based Iron Beam.
Let me be the first on the block to congratulate the state of Israel and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems for having used — since the fall of 2024 — the incredibly effective and incredibly cheap Iron Beam laser anti-missile defense weapon.
Now the Defense Ministry is going full steam ahead to replenish the supply of these systems that have been so depleted during the war in Gaza. The Americans are helping to finance this effort. More on this build-up of Israel’s aerial defense systems can be found here.
The Defense Ministry and various US officials on Thursday announced the acceleration of Iron Dome, Iron Beam, and David’s Sling production for future air defense purposes.
There has been concern that after the tens of thousands of rockets and drones Iron Dome had to intercept during the 2023–2025 Middle East war, Israel could be left vulnerable simply by running out of interceptors for future threats.
The current deal appeared intended to address such concerns.
Defense Ministry Director-General Maj.-Gen. (res.) Amir Baram said, “We remain committed to strengthening the readiness and operational capacity of the IDF in an increasingly complex security environment.”
Notably, he said that “The Iron Dome system has fundamentally transformed the battlefield, demonstrating unprecedented interception capabilities on a global scale against a vast spectrum of threats. This contract will dramatically enhance the multi-layered defense posture and strategic stability of the State of Israel. Joint production in Israel and the United States exemplifies the potential of our technological and industrial partnership.”…
From the bottom of our hearts, we who are on the right side of history thank you, Israel, for another breakthrough that, once again, demonstrates the brilliance of your weapons scientists. Thank god we are on the same side.
Iron Beam, which is the first laser-based air defense system in the world, has many advantages, especially its extraordinarily low cost. Among numerous other advantages, the Iron Beam “quickly and effectively engages and neutralizes a wide array of threats from a range of hundreds of meters to several kilometers. Engaging at the speed of light, IRON BEAM has an unlimited magazine, with almost zero cost per interception, and causes minimal collateral damage. IRON BEAM can be integrated with a range of platforms and can become part of any multilayer defense system.”
The Laser Defense System — the Iron Beam — was a product of Israeli scientists, and it will now be shared with the American military. The U.S. now has the benefit of wonder-working Israeli weapons scientists, giving it a huge advantage over its enemies in air defense systems. American investment in the Israeli defense industry continues to pay spectacular dividends.
Iron Beam has been deployed on the battlefield intermittently during the Gaza War, beginning in October 2024. That has allowed Israeli missile defense experts to see where this defense weapon needed to be tweaked, and they have been doing so. The Americans will reap the benefits of all this testing and trial-and-error. For the American military, Israel is the gift that keeps on giving.
Excellent article.
It is indeed a large help to our military to actually see the technological weapons advance. It will save quite a few lives that have been spent in the past by the incompetence of the general staff of the navy and army. Remember Pearl Harbor? It took the loss of all the battleships to knock their simple heads together. Battleships were archaic. Does anyone remember the last charge in battle of the US Cavalry ? It was the 26th on Luzon in January of 1941. Ah well, I guess everybody needs a bureaucracy and a job.
I’d say it’s about time for something like this in the right hands. I’d like it more if the range of this weapon was a lot farther though. Maybe that’ll come later.
But two dollars a shot to take out a high-priced drone or missile is still excellent.
Two dollars in electricity costs is, of course, the “marginal cost” per interception, atop the untold millions per Iron Beam installation, which has limited coverage, which will be more limited by inclement weather. So if there’s fog, or rain, or a sandstorm, Iron Beam won’t be of much use. And given the unit cost, one shouldn’t expect to see Israel site a hundred of them just to cover all its borders.
So it’s a technological marvel, and the basis for further developments, but in its current iteration its limited coverage means it’s going to supplement, not replace, any current system, and it absolutely does not address the challenge of a projectile swarm. For that they’ll need a broader energy pulse weapon, such as high energy microwave emitters.
People are always crying bout ‘their’ tax dollars being sent to Israel all the time, and what for? And I am always trying to explain to them that a lot of great weapons are developed by them, and when something new and really good is made by them, we of course as well as them are the very first to benefit from it, because we helped fund it. This right here is a prime example of what I have been trying to tell people . Can you just imagine what a game changer this could be mounted on a Missile frigate, or any other warship at sea that might get fired on by missiles? Needless to mention land mass targets? Also, from what I have been reading in other articles on this weapons package, they are not far from mounting something like this on planes as well, which will be a real game changer. And the U.S. can really use something like this. And all the money we used to help them fund this will come back to us 100 fold.
On planes? Certainly not on fighters. The weight of the whole system would be prohibitive. Placing it on a gunship, which has a large lift capability, would be more likely.
The article would be quite a bit more accurate if it had a tone of finally repay and based on the software and American missile systems that had saved thousands of Jewish lives and came before it. Ok probably only hundreds of lives, but it has been over a period of twenty plus years for the missile system. Or fighter jets. etc.
They damn well better share it. It’s about time.
Ukraine needs these.
Tell it to the ones (Tucker anyone) who are complaining of USA military aid to Israel. The USA is getting 100+ more dividend on measly couple billions of aid.
Zohran Mamdani promotes accessible parks for all. — New York City