Israel’s high-powered laser interception system, dubbed “Iron Beam,” has been declared operational after finishing improvement and last assessments, and is ready to be delivered to the navy by the tip of the yr, the Protection Ministry and producer Rafael mentioned on Wednesday.
The Iron Beam has been in improvement for over a decade; it was first unveiled in 2014. In the course of the present warfare, a lower-powered model of the system was utilized by the Israel Protection Forces to shoot down Hezbollah drones launched from Lebanon.
The ministry mentioned its Directorate of Protection Analysis & Improvement (DDR&D), the Israeli Air Power, and the Rafael protection agency “efficiently accomplished a sophisticated collection of operational assessments, which lasted a number of weeks, to exhibit the capabilities of the high-power laser system.”
It mentioned the take a look at concerned the interception of rockets, mortars, and drones by the Iron Beam.
“The collection of assessments, carried out at a testing floor in southern Israel, concludes the event course of and constitutes the ultimate stage earlier than delivering the system for operational use within the IDF,” the ministry mentioned.
In a symbolic transfer, the ministry renamed the system in Hebrew from Magen Or(gentle protect) to Or Eitan(Eitan’s gentle), after Cpt. Eitan Oster, 22, a commander within the Egoz Commando Unit, who was killed preventing Hezbollah in southern Lebanon in October 2024. Oster’s father, who works for the DDR&D, was among the many “initiators and builders” of the Iron Beam venture, the ministry mentioned.
Cpt. Eitan Itzhak Oster, whose demise preventing in Lebanon was introduced on October 2, 2024. (IDF)
The Iron Beam is just not meant to interchange the Iron Dome or Israel’s different air protection techniques, however to complement and complement them, taking pictures down smaller projectiles and leaving bigger ones for the extra strong missile-based batteries such because the David’s Sling and Arrow techniques.
So long as there’s a fixed supply of vitality for the laser, there is no such thing as a danger of it ever operating out of ammunition. Officers have hailed it as a possible “game-changer” within the battle towards projectile assaults.
The ‘Iron Beam’ laser-based air protection system is seen throughout a take a look at in southern Israel, in a handout picture issued on September 17, 2025. (Protection Ministry)
The principle draw back of a laser system is that it doesn’t operate properly in low visibility, together with heavy cloud cowl or different inclement climate.
A lower-powered and shorter-range model of the laser interceptor system utilized by the IDF’s newly revived 946th Air Defense Battalion, which operates anti-drone techniques, shot down some 35 Hezbollah drones over northern Israel final yr.
With the Iron Beam being declared operational, “a major leap within the operational capabilities of the Air Protection Array is predicted, by means of the long-range laser weapon system,” the ministry added.
In June, Rafael showcased on the Paris Air Present its household of “high-energy laser weapon techniques,” together with the Iron Beam 450, an upgraded model of the Iron Beam; the Iron Beam M, a compact and cellular model of the laser interceptor, designed to be mounted on a truck and utilized by floor forces or to guard strategic websites; and the Lite Beam, a light-weight, compact, and lower-powered laser interceptor designed to be mounted on armored personnel carriers or different armored automobiles throughout floor operations.
The ‘Iron Beam’ laser-based air protection system is seen intercepting a goal throughout a take a look at over southern Israel, in a handout picture issued on September 17, 2025. (Protection Ministry)
Rafael additionally mentioned it was creating a maritime model of the laser interceptor, which could possibly be deployed on Navy boats to guard belongings at sea.
Wednesday’s announcement was hailed by officers, with Protection Minister Israel Katz saying the Iron Beam “locations the State of Israel on the forefront of worldwide navy know-how and makes the State of Israel the primary nation to own this functionality.”
“This isn’t solely a second of nationwide pleasure, however a historic milestone for our protection envelope: a quick, exact interception at marginal price that joins the present defensive instruments and modifications the menace equation,” he mentioned.
