Posted on 01/03/2024 9:33:07 AM PST by SeekAndFind
JERUSALEM — After two decades of research and experimentation, Israeli defense officials now say they have a working prototype of a high-powered laser gun that can intercept rockets, mortar shells, drones and anti-tank missiles in flight.
Officials said that the system performed successfully in a recent series of live fire tests in the southern Israeli desert, destroying a rocket, a mortar shell and a drone, and prompting a standing ovation from officials watching the action onscreen.
The government has allocated hundreds of millions of dollars to develop the weapon, which Prime Minister Naftali Bennett described this week as a “strategic game changer.” He has pledged “to surround Israel with a laser wall.”
Professionals involved in developing the system say it is still several years away from being fully operational in the field, and experts caution that even then it may initially be of limited use in protecting Israel from heavy incoming rocket fire. Israeli officials have not said whether it would be effective against the precision-guided missiles that Israel says Hezbollah is developing in Lebanon.
Still, laser weapons have moved from science-fiction movies and the gaming fantasy genre to reality. At least one laser weapon, Lockheed Martin’s Helios, has started deployment on U.S. Navy ships.
“There is a lot of promising laser work going on,” said Thomas Karako, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. “This isn’t ‘Star Wars’ science fiction anymore.”
The U.S. Army has also been working on laser weapons, including more powerful ones able to down cruise missiles, and is moving toward deployment, Mr. Karako said.
None have been battle tested yet, however, and laser beams have serious limitations, like not being able to shoot through clouds.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Israeli officials say the main advantage of the Iron Beam will be its cost, with interceptions costing little more than the power needed to operate it.
The Iron Beam interceptions cost about $3.50 a shot, compared to tens of thousands of dollars apiece for each Iron Dome interception.
Moreover, Iron Dome is heavily subsidized by the United States, which allocated an additional billion dollars for the weapon in the 2022 budget at a time when U.S. military aid to Israel has become increasingly controversial. Israel is also sharing its Iron Beam knowledge with its American allies, Israeli officials said.
Israel’s ground-based laser air defense system,Now they need an air-based laser ground defense system.
Wonder 🤔 if it would work on Chinese spy balloons before they traverse the entire CONUS? /s
Maui ?
This article is from July 1922. The clue was that Naftali Bennett is not the prime Minister anymore. i would imagine Israeli has made even more progress since the article was published.
Whoops. Make that July 2022.
The rag heads will just wrap their munitions in tinfoil.
Dear Israel, please test it on Harvard.
Way outdated even 18 months ago when this was published.
Working systems already deployed by Israel and US Navy, at least. Maybe not just in full-time use yet, but way beyond what this article indicates.
I guess Auric had some good points...
An amusing notion, but that method would not be effective.
The main limiting factor on laser weapons would be their slow rate of fire. A missile swarm can defeat them unless you have a large number of laser cannons.
A first wave that disperses clouds of chaff might blind tracking systems for long enough that a second wave could get through.
No doubt the laser defense systems have become far more capable in the last two years. Ironically, there were some great videos streaming from Al-Jazeera which showed IDF knockouts of missiles from Gaza with their laser weapons. They were explained as "lens flares".
Jewish Space Lasers
Which makes China excited, as they tell their spies to focus on this data.
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