ISRAEL has become the first country in the world to shoot down drones using a state-of-the-art laser system, it has been revealed.
A highly-advanced model was operated to intercept Hezbollah drones along the Lebanese border in a huge breakthrough for the country’s air defence.
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The technological marvel was designed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems as a scaled-down prototype version of the £413million Iron Beam, which is due to be unveiled later this year.
Hezbollah drones were successfully blasted out of the sky by the system in question in late October, sources say.
Use of the laser system was classified and a ban from reporting has only now been lifted.
Its deployment has been confirmed by Israel‘s Ministry of Defence, which hailed “an accelerated development programme to deploy revolutionary interception systems”.
The laser systems will be integrated into Israel’s multi-tiered air defence, which includes the world’s most famed missile shield, the Iron Dome.
It marks the first operational use of Israel’s laser defence technology – touted as the most advanced internationally.
Jaw-dropping footage shows the system in action, carefully scanning the sky before blitzing an incoming drone that then crashes to the ground.
The laser systems offer a more cost-effective solution to combating air threats.
Just one interception from the Iron Dome can cost tens of thousands of pounds.
Whereas the laser system is said to cost as little as £2 per use with a power output of 100kW.
Deployment of Iron Beam’s sister system was accelerated in a bid to fend off escalating attacks from Hezbollah – one of Iran’s terror proxies.
Dr Yuval Steinitz, chairman of Rafael, said: “Israel is the first country in the world to transform high-power laser technology into a fully operational system – and to execute actual combat interceptions.”
The company said it is the “beginning of a new era of warfare” that will “reshape the future of air defence”>
Israel’s MOD, Air Force and Rafael said the compact system was used to ” successfully intercept scores of enemy threats”.
They added: The deployed laser systems are part of Rafael’s portfolio of directed energy weapon systems, and complement the more powerful Iron Beam system, which is expected to be delivered to the IDF later this year.
“Throughout the current war, the IAF studied and deployed the laser systems in the field, achieving outstanding interception rates that saved civilian lives and protected national assets.”
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How Israel’s defence mechanisms work
Iron Dome
The Iron Dome is Israel’s most famed missile shield.
It intercepts short-range rockets as well as shells and mortar.
Iron Dome batteries are scattered across Israel, with each base having three or four launchers.
Each launcher has 20 interceptor missiles.
A radar system detects rockets and calculates the trajectory, while a control system estimates the impact point.
An operator then decides whether to launch rockets to intercept.
David’s Sling
David’s Sling destroys longer-range rockets, cruise missiles and medium or long-range ballistic missiles.
It started operation in 2017 and like the Dome, only stops missiles that threaten civilians and infrastructure.
Arrow 2 and Arrow 3
Arrow 2 wipes out short-range and medium-range ballistic missiles while they are flying through the upper atmosphere.
It is able to detect missiles up to 500km away.
Missiles from Arrow 2 can travel at nine times the speed of sounds – firing at up to 14 targets at once.
Arrow 3 meanwhile intercepts long-range ballistic missiles as they travel at the top of their arc outside the Earth’s atmosphere.
Thaad system
Thaad is a US-made system, designed to work in a similar way to David’s Sling and intercept missiles towards the end of their flight.
It can stop missiles inside and outside the Earth’s atmosphere.
Thaad batteries usually have six launchers, which each contain eight missiles.
Iron Beam was first unveiled in 2014 and has been under development since – but is expected to come into operation before the year is through.
It will be able to take down air threats such as rockets, mortar bombs, unmanned aerial vehicles, cruise missiles – and will be able to be programmed to follow low-flying targets before disabling them.
Dr Daniel Gold, who spearheaded the creation of Iron Dome, vowed to “continue to advance this technology and deliver world-leading systems and capabilities to the IDF”.
The former Brigadier General, who now heads the Directorate of Defence Research & Development, said: “The State of Israel is the first in the world to demonstrate large-scale operational laser interception capabilities.
“Our vision for deploying laser weapons was realized during the war with tremendous technological and operational success.”
According to Rafael, Iron Beam can shoot down flying objects like mortars, rockets, artillery, and UAVs with “pinpoint accuracy”.
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It has a range of several kilometres and costs almost nothing to run with it being a laser.
As well as low cost, other benefits include unlimited number of firings, lower operational costs, and less manpower.
But, unlike the Iron Dome, it’s not an all-weather air defence system.
The Iron Dome can be operated in all weather conditions – including fog, dust storm, low clouds and rain.
But the Iron Beam system doesn’t work effectively in wet conditions as the water particles absorb the laser’s energy.
It also needs a direct line of sight between the system and its target – making its placement far more important – and it has a much slower rate of fire.
Although the laser beam makes its way to the target at the speed of light, it takes several seconds to destroy short-range missiles.
The Iron Dome, however, destroys the target within a millisecond.
The Sun’s visit to an Iron Dome battery
By Katie Davis, Chief Foreign Reporter (Digital)
THE Sun last month got a rare look at an Iron Dome battery system in southern Israel.
Tucked along a track away from prying eyes close to a city of around 33,000, a group of highly trained IDF soldiers work tirelessly to repel missiles fired by Hamas from Gaza.
Fenced off from the public, the batteries sit on a concrete base ready to be put into action at the drop of a hat.
Firing units are primed and ready to go, with the launchers always pointing towards the sky as incoming threats can come at any moment.
An IDF commander walked us through exactly how the remarkable system works and proudly told how they had successfully wiped out around 96 per cent of missiles fired their way.
Developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and Israel Aerospace Industries, this exceptional kit is essential to Israel’s defence.
During my time in Israel last week, I saw first hand the devastation Hamas caused on October 7.
Kibbutz Nir Oz was decimated by callous terrorists and around a quarter of its residents were either brutally killed or taken hostage.
Hamas also unleashed a barrage of more than 5,000 missiles against Israeli targets that day in a bid to overwhelm its robust defence system.
Since then, the terror group has continued to repeatedly blitz Israel – but thanks to systems like the Iron Dome it has managed to limit casualty numbers.
