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Source: https://www.ynetnews.com/magazine/article/r11alnlwbg
Iron Beam Laser System Is about to Rewrite Air Defense
(Ynet News) Tal Shahaf - Israel has had no truly effective answer to Iran's Shahed 101 exploding kamikaze drone. Launched from Lebanon, the Shahed 101 hit many communities in the north. While Israel's Iron Dome air defense performed impressively, with a 90-95% interception rate, against drones only 50% were shot down in time. A little more than a year ago, IDF soldiers spotted a threat hovering over their sector. The air defense team tracked the target and launched their response. When the system was activated, no roar of a Tamir interceptor missile was heard. It was the first operational launch of an Israeli laser weapon. Two km. away, the UAV from Lebanon was knocked sideways, then fell like a stone to the ground. Never before had anyone managed to bring down an airborne weapon using a laser beam in operational activity. In May, Israel revealed that laser cannons had brought down 40 UAVs launched by Hizbullah. "Israel is the first country in the world to present a massive operational laser capability for intercepting threats," said Brig.-Gen. (res.) Danny Gold, head of the Defense Ministry's Directorate of Defense Research and Development. Iron Beam will be deployed near Iron Dome batteries. It operates using Iron Dome's warning and command and control systems. In a split second, the system identifies whether an approaching threat requires a $50,000 Iron Dome missile or a laser shot costing 50 cents.