Israel’s Iron Beam laser system to enter operational service within weeks

Israel’s Iron Beam high-power laser interception system will enter initial operational service with the Israel Defense Forces by 30 December, officials announced on Monday.

Brigadier General Daniel Gold, head of the Defense Ministry’s Research and Development Directorate, confirmed the handover date at the International Defense Tech Summit in Tel Aviv.

“With development complete and a comprehensive testing program that has validated the system’s capabilities, we are prepared to deliver initial operational capability to the IDF on 30 December 2025,” Gold said. “The Iron Beam laser system is expected to fundamentally change the rules of engagement on the battlefield.”

‘Shoot down with light’

Yuval Steinitz, chairman of Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and former Israeli finance minister, described Iron Beam as a “laser revolution.”

“For the first time in human history, we are able to shoot down missiles, rockets, even artillery shells, mortar shells, cruise missiles, and airplanes, not with projectiles but with light,” Steinitz cited by the Misgav Mideast Horizons Podcast.

Steinitz said that Lite Beam, a smaller version, already intercepted around 50 Hezbollah drones in October 2024.

"Each Iron Beam interception costs about $3 - compared with $50,000 for an Iron Dome missile and $5,000–$10,000 for enemy rockets - and operates at the speed of light, enabling immediate interception over launch areas and reducing shelter alerts," Jewish Insider cited Steinitz as saying.

“Combined with Iron Dome and David’s Sling, the system will push interception rates close to 100 percent against threats from Gaza and Lebanon,” Steinitz said, adding that lasers will not fully replace kinetic interceptors in the near term due to weather and saturation issues.

Israel currently operates a multi-layered missile defense network comprising Iron Dome, David’s Sling, Arrow 2, Arrow 3 and the forthcoming Arrow 4.

The Iron Dome is a short-range system that intercepts rockets and artillery shells with a range of 4-70 km (2-43 miles). It uses radar to detect and track threats, and its interceptors destroy them mid-air.

Arrow 3 and Arrow 4 are long-range ballistic missile defense systems. Arrow 2 intercepts missiles in the upper atmosphere, while Arrow 3 targets them in space, making it effective against threats such as Iran’s ballistic missiles.