What Is the 'Iron Beam?' Israel's Never-Before-Used Defense System: Report

Israel's first-of-its-kind Iron Beam air defense was reportedly activated to intercept enemy missiles in Gaza, years before it was scheduled to be implemented.

The war in the Middle East started following the deadly surprise attack on October 7 by Hamas, a Palestinian militant group, which led to Israel responding with its heaviest-ever airstrikes on Gaza.

As pro-Israel groups have backed the country's right to self-defense, people all the world—including U.S. members of Congress and students at various institutions of higher learning—have called for a ceasefire due to the rising number of civilian casualties in the region.

"For the first time in the world, a laser system developed in Israel was able to intercept a rocket that was fired at Israel during the days of fighting," reported Hillel Hallel, an army and defense correspondent for Israeli commercial television Channel 14, on X, formerly Twitter.

Newsweek reached out to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) via email for confirmation.

Iron Beam, a high-wattage laser manufactured by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, was designed to intercept short-range missiles and projectiles. Its rollout was slated for 2025 and aimed to complement Israel's existing Iron Dome interceptor system.

However, a more rapid timeline for full deployment may not be feasible due to the requirement of integrating the laser with the existing defense system.

Iron Beam is designed to intercept a wide range of threats, including unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), Rafael says, which can be accomplished from a distance of a few hundred meters to up to several kilometers.

The system uses an unlimited magazine and can be integrated on multiple platforms, "neutralizing a wide range of threats with pinpoint accuracy" without leaving much collateral damage, while simultaneously protecting civilians and military forces.

Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett called it a "laser wall" and tests last year indicated it was successful at destroying rockets, mortars, drones and anti-tank rounds.

While Iron Dome has a finite amount of power because it launches missiles to respond to attacks, the benefit of Iron Beam is that it cannot run out of ammo.

This also makes it more cost-effective to operate. Iron Dome missiles are estimated to cost around $50,000 each, whereas the cost of firing Iron Beam is negligible.

David Hambling, a U.K.-based military expert, previously told Newsweek that Iron Beam can keep "firing as long as it has a power supply, with a cost-per-shot of perhaps a dollar. It can rapidly switch from one target to the next, striking at the speed of light, rapidly knocking down rockets for as long as they keep coming."

In one barrage, Hamas fired up to 5,000 rockets in just 20 minutes, he said, which would have been hugely expensive for Israel to intercept and risks overwhelming Iron Dome.

"A laser, on the other hand, gives you essentially an infinite magazine of interception opportunities, because the laser—as long as you've got electricity—will continue to recharge, continue to shoot down incoming weapons," Bryan Clark, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, told CNBC.

Unlike a missile, which explodes immediately upon impact, a laser requires several seconds of contactwith an object to create enough energy to destroy it. Another concern has been that rockets or missiles could be coated in heat-resistant material, rendering the Iron Beam useless. Nor will the laser work in poor weather conditions, Uzi Rubin, former director of the Israel Missile Defense Organization within the Israeli Defense Ministry, previously told Newsweek.

United States Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology Doug Bush told C4ISRNET that the Iron Beam's success in Israel could prompt the U.S. to implement the technology.

President Joe Biden's request for $106 billion in emergency funding included $1.2 billion for the Iron Beam, which Bush said could in turn help the U.S. develop a similar system.

Updated 11/21/23, 4:15 a.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.

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