Gadgets: Laser and HERF Weaponry

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Some Sci-Fi gear is now Current-Fi...


Israeli 'Iron Beam' Lasers Are 'Future Of Warfare'

Last year we reported on Israel's development of a ground-based laser
defense system dubbed 'Iron Beam,' which then-Prime Minister Naftali
Bennett called "a game-changer" that could "bankrupt" the enemy.
Defense MinistryIsrael's Iron Beam defense system

    Let’s do some math:

    If firing a rocket at Israel costs terrorists $20,000
    X
    Intercepting that rocket costs Israel $100,000

    What would happen if Israel’s new “Iron Beam” laser system could
intercept that rocket at $2 per shot?

    Tables turned on terror & an equation redefined. pic.twitter.com/VWlWKEZpAk
    — Naftali Bennett בנט (@naftalibennett) June 1, 2022

Now, it's being reported that the system - which has been in
development by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems for 15 years, and was
originally set for a 2025 rollout, will be deployed more quickly than
that due to the Israel-Hamas war, and it may be placed in service as
early as 2024.

    More than a hundred Rafael engineers have reportedly been working
on this project, considered one of the most significant technological
challenges ever faced by the Israeli defense industries, in order to
create a fast and effective interception system, with inexhaustible
and near cost-free ammunition.

    Recent tests of Iron Beam in the Negev have shown promising
results, with the system successfully intercepting various airborne
threats. The heart of the system is an electric laser pointer, capable
of targeting and sending out a powerful laser beam, invisible to the
naked eye.

    Since the war erupted on October 7, more than 10,000 projectiles
have been fired at Israel, including 3,000 in the first hours of the
conflict. Rafael and the Israeli Defense Ministry have considered the
current operations as an opportunity to test the Iron Beam under real
combat conditions. -i24news

Speaking with Calcalist, one of Rafael's iron beam program managers
expressed high hopes for the system, saying "Our aim is to reach a
state where the enemy feels totally powerless. He has to understand
that our laser pointers, deployed where needed, intercept and destroy
all his attacks, almost instantly after they are launched, long before
they reach Israeli territory or threaten anyone else. In such a
scenario, the activation of warning sirens might even become
unnecessary."
The technology could transform air defense systems

The system will be seen as a compliment to the existing Iron Dome
system, which costs around $50,000 per interceptor missile

"Any modern military wants to develop systems to intercept incoming
fire as a defensive measure," Security expert Dr Rod Thornton of the
Defence Studies Department at King's College London told the Mirror.
"Investments has been down the line of lasers. It is very complicated
to get a laser to work, you need a lot of energy and a good power
source to fire the laser, but it is the way forward."

    The Biden administration sent a funding request to Congress to
support the development of the technology. The request is part of a
proposed package by the White House for $14.3 billion from Congress to
fund Israeli security. If approved, around $10.6 billion of the budget
would be used to fund air and missile defense.

    As reported by Defenses Scoop, $1.2 billion will be used for the
development of Iron Beam, according to a letter to Congress from the
Office of Management and Budget "It is what the American military
wants as well," Thornton said. "They want to benefit from the Israeli
development of Iron Beam." -The Mirror

"Going forward, things like high-tech defense systems like laser
interceptors are going to be a thing," said Thornton.

"You can expect it to be rolled out more, but it is very expensive. If
the Americans are backing it through the Israeli Defense Force,
through Raphael, then it is going to go forward... It is going to
become more effective and cheaper in the coming years."