Historic Breakthrough: IDF Reveals Laser System Shot Down Dozens of Drones in War

Following the IDF's announcement of a historic breakthrough on Wednesday that an unnamed laser defense system similar to the much celebrated Iron Beam laser system has shot down dozens of aerial threats during the war, the military on Thursday clarified that the exact number was 35 Hezbollah drones.

Further, the IDF said that this was part of wider efforts which shot down close to 1,000 drones when taking into account all of the various fronts from which hostile actors have tried to attack Israel, including: Lebanon, Gaza, Iran, Yemen, Syria, and Iraq.

According to the Defense Ministry, the Iron Beam and a related family of laser defense systems, produced by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, are the most advanced and operational lasers in the world, though England, the US, and others also have relatively advanced laser platforms.

Sources have told the Post that what makes the Iron Beam the most advanced is its reliability in different kinds of weather, variable range, adaptability to different kinds of aerial threats, and the ability to place it in different contexts.

Originally, other sources told the Post that they could not reveal the name of the sister-laser system to the Iron Beam whose progress was being publicly revealed on Wednesday, but later they clarified that the system was the Lite Beam.

Other sources said that they could not reveal the name of the sister-laser system to the Iron Beam, whose progress was being publicly revealed on Wednesday.

In October 2024, Rafael announced that it was showcasing its latest defense capabilities at the AUSA defense exhibition October 14-16 in Washington, DC, including a new Lite Beam laser-based interception system integrated into the Trophy multitasking defense platform.

While not as much of a watershed moment as the Iron Beam, the Lite Beam is still a powerful example of Israel succeeding in using layers, at least for short-range defense. Defense sources told the Post that the Lite Beam’s operational capabilities have been proven, though they declined to disclose exactly when and how the IDF has used such capabilities in the field in Gaza or Lebanon.

Lite Beam's operational capabilities have been proven

The implication was that the Lite Beam would be effective against drones and possibly against mortars but would not shoot down most rockets or long-range missiles, which Israel eventually hopes the Iron Beam will do.

In general, laser defense technologies are viewed as a major part of future air defense because they would end the arms cost race in which Israel and other wealthy countries constantly waste huge amounts of money to protect themselves from weaker adversaries using cheap, low attack forms of threats.

Currently, Israel spends $50,000-100,000 on Iron Dome interceptors. Before the war, Hamas spent an estimated $300-800 on its cheaper rockets, with costs less well-known regarding some of its better rockets.

The sources added that the Lite Beam has hard kill neutralization capabilities, which can be integrated on any vehicular platform and operational capabilities, and that it can also be a component of the drone dome, which utilizes both soft kill and jamming.

Rafael said that the Lite Beam “offers advantages such as engagement at the speed of light, an unlimited magazine, and negligible cost per interception.”

In February 2023, senior Defense Ministry official Brig.-Gen. (res.) Danny Gold said Israel’s air defense lasers, when fully deployed in the future, could shoot down the drones Iran has been sending to Ukraine.

Speaking at the Artificial Intelligence conference at Tel Aviv University, Gold, the director of MAFAT [Directorate of Defense Research & Development], said his ministry is working on developing “the next generation of using lasers.”

He talked about multiple successful tests destroying rockets “with a very sophisticated laser weapons system…We have done the same for mortars, rockets, and UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles), like the Iranian UAVs they are sending to Ukraine. The same concept of UAV, we can shoot them down.”

On Wednesday, Gold said, “Our vision for deploying laser weapons was realized during the war with tremendous technological and operational success. IDF combat units displayed boldness in integrating and carrying out the first successful operational deployments of the systems, and the lessons learned will be applied as we deploy more operational laser systems.

“Laser interception systems will provide an additional layer within Israel’s multi-tiered air defense array, which has been meticulously developed through the tireless efforts of the defense industries and Israel’s exceptional human capital. We will continue to advance this technology and deliver world-leading systems and capabilities to the IDF, turning vision into security in air, sea, land, and across every dimension.”

Head of the Defense Ministry’s Directorate of Research and Development Brig.-Gen. Yehuda Elmakayes stated, “During the war, we deployed several high-power laser system prototypes, resulting in significant achievements, culminating in the world’s first successful high-power laser interceptions on the battlefield.

“Throughout this period, we gained substantial experience in optimizing and operating laser technologies in the field. We are currently integrating these insights into the systems under development while expanding the range of laser-based systems to protect Israeli civilians and IDF forces.”

Repeated top Israeli official statements have predicted that by the end of 2025, the Iron Beam will be more widely and publicly deployed.

Despite Wednesday’s success and other successes with Iron Beam expected later in 2025, laser defense will not replace the Iron Dome overnight. One thing this war has revealed is that there are diverse kinds of aerial threats and that the Iron Dome can be overwhelmed by swarms and mass simultaneous rocket or drone attacks.

In that case, it is more likely that there will be an extended era where lasers will serve alongside the Iron Dome as an additional option to save money and will only replace it if they become efficient enough and cost-saving enough to confront swarm and mass rocket attack scenarios.

In addition, lasers are generally, for now, thought of as defending against short- and medium-range threats, not ballistic missiles, which are generally shot down much farther away from a country’s defense line. For example, Israel’s Arrow 3 missile system shoots down ballistic missiles up in Earth’s atmosphere, a much greater distance to achieve for a laser to remain effective at destroying an object.