On Monday, officials announced that the Israeli Ministry of Defense and Elbit Systems are developing an airborne laser weapon to shoot down drones and other aerial targets, with expectations that the prototype will be ready by 2025. They added that the unnamed laser weapon could be integrated into Israel's multi-layered air defenses, which include the Iron Dome system for shooting down short-range rockets and the David's Sling and Arrow interceptors for ballistic missiles.
Brigadier General Yaniv Rotem from the Ministry's Research and Development Division told reporters that initial tests of the laser weapon conducted using a light aircraft successfully targeted several drones at a distance of about one kilometer in recent days. He stated, "To our knowledge, we are the first (country) or perhaps definitely among the first countries to have attempted and succeeded in such... interception."
Elbit Systems manufactures the C-MUSIC system, which is a defense system equipped with lasers to "blind" incoming missiles. Oren Sabag, a senior official at Elbit, stated that the new laser weapon will utilize techniques similar to those of the C-MUSIC system but will destroy targets by heating them until they catch fire in "a matter of seconds."
Rotem indicated that a prototype with a power of 100 kilowatts and a range of 20 kilometers will be available in three to four years. This suggests that the operational version will take longer to be deployed. The ministry and Elbit, along with state-owned Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd., are also working on a ground-based laser weapon to counter aerial threats, with a range of eight to ten kilometers expected to be operational by 2025. Rotem noted that the airborne version will have an advantage as it can be operated above the clouds, thereby eliminating disruptions caused by poor weather conditions that could affect laser beams launched from the ground.
