Iron Beam *already* shoots down more than one incoming missile.
You say that you are paying attention...what’s the most recent publication that you’ve read?
Anything since 2010?
It shoots down small drones after it applies a ray for several seconds. Its big and heavy. It takes huge amounts of energy. And it works in perfect whether.
If you are flying along on a sunny day and some slow drones come at you. You can blow them out of the sky as long as there aren’t that many.
If you are a 747 sized aircraft, you can blow larger things out of the sky. But you still have a limit before you need to land and pug in like a Tesla. And I hope no one sees you, because you will be so big and slow that anyone could down you. And again, you need a nice sunny day.
The reality is that you can easily make missiles who’s skin would reflect a laser. So this technology is not the future.