Israel's new Iron Beam laser defense system is declared operational after successful tests

Israel's futuristic Iron Beam high-power laser system, which will now be known as the “Or Eitan" system in Hebrew, has been declared operational.

The Ministry of Defense’s Directorate of Defense Research & Development (DDR&D) and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems announced on Wednesday that they had successfully completed a final series of tests demonstrating the system's capabilities.

Tests were conducted at the Shdema facility in southern Israel, and included rockets, missiles, mortars, drones, and loitering munitions, being fired in a variety of firing scenarios at targets near the Iron Beam system. 

The Defense Ministry said the successful testing concludes the development phase for the Iron Beam system and represents “the final milestone” before operational deployment to the IDF, with the first systems set to be integrated into IDF air defense arrays by the end of the year. 

The IDF has been testing a limited version of the Iron Beam system over the past two years of the Iron Swords War, primarily against rockets and drones from Hezbollah in Lebanon. 

“As announced last May, operational prototypes of Rafael’s short-range tactical laser systems have been deployed throughout the current war and have successfully intercepted and defeated dozens of threats,” the Defense Ministry said in a statement. 

The IDF changed the name of the system, “Or Eitan” (literally Strong Light in Hebrew), from its original name “Magen Or” (Light Shield) in honor of the first Israeli soldier killed during operations against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, Capt. Eitan Oster. Oster's father took part in the development of the system.

The Iron Beam is meant to supplement Israel’s existing air defense systems, such as Iron Dome, David’s Sling, and the Arrow system. The Defense Ministry intends for the Iron Beam system to intercept short-range threats like rockets, mortars, and drones, freeing the Iron Dome to focus on larger threats.

The other benefit of the Iron Beam system is a much lower cost-to-intercept compared to Iron Dome, whose interceptor missiles cost around $50,000 each. 

The Iron Beam system can intercept those threats for a negligible cost per intercept. 

“We are at the beginning of a revolution that Israel is leading, and that will fundamentally change the battlefield,” the Defense Ministry said. “The laser will break the economic equation and create a vast gap between the cost of interception – a few shekels – and the cost of the munitions being intercepted.” 

“This is a world-class historic milestone,” the ministry said. “After thousands of years of warfare, for the first time, there is a system that can use a laser beam to intercept most types of threats at multiple ranges.” 

While the cost for each intercept is low, the systems themselves are expensive to manufacture. However, as the systems are successfully used in interceptions, the total cost for the system stays relatively low compared to the Iron Dome. 

Defense Minister Israel Katz praised the success of the program.  

“Achieving operational laser interception capability places the State of Israel at the forefront of global military technology and makes Israel the first nation to possess this capability,” Katz said during the announcement.

“This is not only a moment of national pride, but a historic milestone for our defense envelope: rapid, precise interception at marginal cost that joins our existing defense systems and changes the threat equation.” 

“The people of Israel have much to be proud of,” Katz continued. “Our enemies from Gaza, Iran, Lebanon, Yemen, and other arenas should know: just as we are strong in defense, we are strong in offense - and we will do everything to protect the security of Israeli citizens.” 

Ministry of Defense Director General, Maj. Gen. (Res.) Amir Baram called the completion of the Iron Beam system “a historic milestone for Israel's defense establishment and defense industries.” 

“This is the first time in the world that a high-power laser interception system has reached full operational maturity, completing numerous interceptions across various simulated operational scenarios,” he noted, saying the high-power laser system will integrate within Israel's multi-layered defense array.