by Jim Morris, Warrior Vice President News
It’s being described as a breakthrough in air defense.
For the first time, Israel’s high-power laser air defense system has been used in combat. The system’s maker, Rafael, and Israel’s Ministry of defense says that air force units intercepted dozens of enemy drones with prototype lasers.
Israeli officials say the technology was used against Hezbollah targets along the Lebanese border in late October, but there was a ban on reporting the matter until recently.
The 10 kilowatt prototype system is called Lite Beam, and is a less powerful variant of the Iron Beam laser interceptor which is likely to become operational later this year. The weapon is mounted on wheeled vehicles.
The Iron Beam system is seen as a much more cost-effective way to take out swarms of drones, as opposed to Israel’s Iron Dome defense. Reportedly, each Iron Beam interception costs just $2, while the conventional interceptors fires by Iron Dome cost anywhere from $20,000 to $100,000 each.
Rafael, which debuted Israel’s first laser weapons more than a decade ago, says the latest one “offers advantages such as engagement at the speed of light, an unlimited magazine and negligible cost per interception.”
Meanwhile, the US has been developing its own laser weapons. The Navy has installed HELIOS – High Energy Laser with Integrated Optical-dazzler and Surveillance – on an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer.
The Army has deployed several laser weapons overseas, and is expected to soon acquire a laser designed to make the enemy virtually blind by destroying reconnaissance drones.
HII was selected by the Army to develop an open architecture High-Energy Laser that can be used as a fixed-site system or integrated onto Army vehicles.
And, at the recent DSEI Japan exhibition – the country’s only large-scale defense event – the Ministry of Defense unveiled its Vehicle-Mounted High-Power Laser System, which is being developed by the Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency.
According to military officials who spoke to Defence Blog, the laser weapon is a “potential game-changer for layered air defense, with its ability to engage targets without relying on traditional kinetic interceptors.” It was also noted that the laser weapon is a lot cheaper than conventional munitions and leads to a smaller amount of collateral damage.
The prototype has a 10 kilowatt laser that is capable of continuous 360-degree emission. It’s mounted on an 8 x 8 truck chassis. Japan is said to be putting more emphasis on air defense systems that are flexible, mobile and can intercept slower targets such as aerial drones. Army Recognition reported that during tests in February and March, the laser system successfully neutralized a small drone.
At the same time, Japan is coming up with a more powerful laser, which is known as a directed energy weapons, designed to defend against missiles. The advantage to using lasers is the ability to counter fast-moving targets without having to use physical interceptors. At the same time, there is unlimited ammunition capacity – as long as there is enough power supply.
Jim Morris is the Warrior Vice President, News. Morris previously worked as an executive, editor and producer at ABC News and Bloomberg TV