Israel announces pioneering weapons, erecting “laser wall” around the country

The New York Times On June 4, citing Israeli officials, their laser guns successfully carried out a series of recent live-fire tests in the southern desert, destroying a missile, a mortar and a machine gun. unmanned flight.

Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz declared Israel “one of the first countries in the world” to develop such a weapon.

The Israeli government has allocated hundreds of millions of dollars to develop this weapon. It was described by Prime Minister Naftali Bennett as a “strategic game changer”. He also pledged to “enclose Israel with a laser wall”.

The new laser gun could complement Israel’s Iron Dome system. Photo: The New York Times

Experts involved in the development of the system say it is still several years away from being operational in the field. Even then, they warned, weapons were limited in protecting Israel from heavy fire.

Israeli officials have not said whether it will be effective against precision-guided missiles that Tel Aviv attributes to the growing Hezbollah movement in Lebanon.

Meanwhile, at least one laser weapon, Lockheed Martin Corp’s Helios, has begun to be deployed on US Navy ships.

“There’s a lot of promise in lasers. It’s not science fiction anymore,” said Thomas Karako, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

The US military is also working on laser weapons, including more powerful ones that can shoot down cruise missiles, and move towards deployment, Karako said.

However, none of the lasers has been tested in real combat, and the laser beam has major limitations, such as being unable to shoot through clouds.

Israel’s ground-based laser air defense system, dubbed Iron Beam, is intended to supplement, but not replace, other components in Israel’s air defense arsenal, including the Iron Dome – a missile interceptor system. famous short range.

The Israeli Ministry of Defense recently awarded a contract worth more than $100 million to the state-owned Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, the main manufacturer of the laser system.

“We’ve been working on laser technology for about 20 years,” Michael Lurie, Rafael’s vice president and head of ground control systems, said in an interview.

“They’re bulky, they’re huge, and they’re inefficient. We’ve had problems with power, surveillance, and ability to pierce the atmosphere. But over the past few years, we’ve solved the science problem. . Now, we face technical challenges. But we know the system works.”