Iron Beam 450 image from wikipediacommons
The Israeli anti-drone and anti-missile laser weapon, the Iron Beam 450 is said to be ready to be deployed in Israel. From the timesofisrael.com:
The Iron Beam is not meant to replace the Iron Dome or Israel’s other air defense systems, but to supplement and complement them, shooting down smaller projectiles and leaving larger ones for the more robust missile-based batteries such as the David’s Sling and Arrow systems.
As long as there is a constant source of energy for the laser, there is no risk of it ever running out of ammunition. Officials have hailed it as a potential “game-changer” in the battle against projectile attacks.
The Iron Beam 450 has an 450 millimeter aperture. It has a range of about 10 kilometers and a published beam power of 100 kilowatts. A significant amount of the funding for the development of the Iron Beam has come from the United States. The USA has been developing laser weapons for decades. This correspondent's team supported an early feasibility test about 1975. Much of Anti-Ballistic Missile laser technology, primarily to do with aiming and concentrating of the beam, was supported by my colleagues in the late 1980s- early 1990's. That technology, or very similar concepts, are used by the Iron Beam. There are a couple of smaller brothers of the 450, about half and one tenth of its power. The least powerful the Lite Beam, can be mounted on a land vehicle. The Lite Beam is said to have beam power of 10 kilowatts and a range of a couple of kilometers. The middle powered unit, on is said to be "mobile", with a power of 50 kilowatts.
Designed to operate autonomously or in conjunction with the Iron Dome’s command and control systems, Iron Beam introduces a strategic shift by enabling low-cost intercepts without depleting expensive missile stockpiles. According to Brig. Gen. (Res.) Dr. Daniel Gold, head of DDR&D, “Combining laser and missile interceptors will significantly strengthen our defense envelope against rockets, missiles, UAVs, and emerging threats.”
The Iron Beam system is expected to reduce Israel’s cost per intercept for short-range threats significantly. While Iron Dome interceptors cost tens of thousands of dollars per shot, a single Iron Beam engagement may cost only a few dollars in electricity. This economic edge is especially vital during prolonged conflicts or saturation attacks, where traditional interceptor stocks could quickly run low.
The Iron Beam system has been under development since 2014. It utilizes two solid state laser units which run off of electricity. They are said to combine the beams for maximum range and effect. The AirBorne Laser (ABL) system, canceled in 2011, utilized a chemical laser. The storage and transport of the highly energetic, toxic chemicals used to power the ABL was always a significant problem. Solid state laser systems do not have that problem. Solid state lasers have been tested and employed by the United States military. In 2017, a Lockheed engineer claimed the lasers they were testing converted 43% of the electrical energy into beam power. It was an amazing claim. If true, the Iron Dome lasers are probably more efficient.
The cost to produce the system is not obvious. One correspondent put it at $60K per unit, not counting development costs. At a cost of electricity per engagement of a claimed $5, it appears to be cheap to operate. If true, it is inexpensive compared to most anti-air defense systems. The Iron Beam 450 is going to be deployed for all to see in action in Israel. Its capabilities will soon be demonstrated to the world.
Laser systems have problems with dust, rain, clouds, fog, smoke, essentially anything in the air. Israel has mostly clear air. Such a system seems potentially useful in the drone war in Ukraine, but Ukraine has clouds and precipitation much more frequently than does Israel.
A similar system may be under development in China. The LY-1 is the designation for a system supposedly designed for ship defense. It is unclear what the LY-1 capabilities are.
Laser systems for individual soldiers are already in use for range finding, as well as potentially blinding opponents. Buck Rodgers laser rifles may arrive this century, as lasers become smaller, lighter, and more efficient, and batteries continue to make gains in energy density.
©2025 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
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