ISRAEL’S one-of-a-kind Iron Beam laser gun has fired down a rocket shot from the Gaza Strip.
This is the first time that a laser-based air defence system has been used operationally to intercept an attack in a war zone.
4
The system works by firing powerful beams of light into the sky to turn the object into dust.
Although the initial aim was to roll out the weapon by 2025, Israel has been accelerating the development due to their conflict in Gaza.
They are now aiming for it to be fully operational by next year.
It has been claimed that over a hundred engineers are currently working on the project.
The manufacturers, Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, have said that is designed to intercept short-range missiles and projectiles.
Rafael said it is “designed to intercept a wide range of threats such as from a distance of a few hundred metres to up to several kilometres”.
The company claim that the Iron Beam’s 100-kilowatt laser and 7km range, means that it wipes out threats with pinpoint accuracy and causes almost no collateral damage.
As the system can protect vessels from…
Read the full article here
