Israel's Iron Beam laser air defense system enters service, supplementing Iron Dome against rocket and drone attacks.

According to a report on the armyrecognition website on December 28, 2025, on December 28, 2025, the Israeli Ministry of Defense and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems held a ceremony to officially deliver the first operational Iron Beam high-power laser air defense system to the Israel Defense Forces.

The system's Hebrew name is Or Eitan, in honor of Captain Eitan Oster, an Israel Defense Forces officer who fell in southern Lebanon. His father, one of the system's developers, attended the ceremony. The system will be received by the Israeli Air Force and integrated into Israel's multi-layered air defense system as a complement to the Iron Dome, David's Sling, and Arrow missile defense systems.

The development of the Iron Beam system spanned over a decade. It was led by the research and development unit under the Israeli Ministry of Defense's Directorate of Defense Research and Development, with Rafael Advanced Defense Systems serving as the main contractor. Elbit Systems was responsible for providing the laser source, while other Israeli defense companies such as SCD and Shafir Systems also contributed key subsystems. In March 2022, its prototype system conducted a public test, successfully shooting down a drone. The system made its first public appearance at the Association of the United States Army Annual Meeting in October 2022. During the ongoing war in Israel, the Iron Beam prototype was deployed in combat and successfully intercepted dozens of threats, accumulating practical operational experience. On October 28, 2024, Eyal Zamir, Director General of the Israeli Ministry of Defense, announced the signing of contracts with relevant companies, expecting Iron Beam to enter operational service within a year. After entering 2025, the development process significantly accelerated. On September 17, 2025, the project party announced the successful completion of a series of final tests conducted over several weeks at a facility in the Negev Desert in southern Israel. These tests simulated comprehensive combat scenarios and successfully intercepted various targets including rockets, mortar shells, aircraft, and drones. By December 2025, the system officially entered the mass production phase, with Rafael confirming that multiple follow-on systems were already in production.

Iron Beam System is a 100-kilowatt class ground-based mobile high-energy laser weapon system. It employs Rafael's proprietary adaptive optics technology, which dynamically adjusts the laser beam to compensate for atmospheric disturbances, thereby maintaining beam stability and precision over long distances. According to Yuval Steinitz, Chairman of Rafael, Iron Beam does not rely on a single high-energy beam. Instead, it emits hundreds of small, coin-sized beams, guided and feedback-driven by algorithms, gradually concentrating energy on the vulnerable points of the target to achieve destruction. The system is equipped with an advanced electro-optical targeting and tracking suite, providing robust capabilities for target acquisition, tracking, and engagement. Iron Beam has an effective interception range of approximately 10 kilometers, capable of intercepting short-range rockets, mortar shells, drones, and loitering munitions. The estimated cost per laser firing is only 5 to 10 dollars, a stark contrast to the tens of thousands of dollars per interceptor missile used in the Iron Dome system. As long as there is a continuous power supply, an effective cooling system, and clear line-of-sight for targeting, the system can perform nearly unlimited interceptions, enabling it to counter large-scale, prolonged aerial attacks.

The Iron Beam laser air defense system family currently includes three models, with the most powerful being the Iron Beam–Laser, which features longer range, higher accuracy, and faster engagement speed, providing wide-area coverage and the capability to intercept high-speed threats in complex scenarios. The Iron Beam– (Iron Beam–) Compact Mobile Tactical Laser is specifically designed to protect ground forces and strategic locations, offering easy deployment and delivering precise, cost-effective laser interception for forward-deployed troops. The is a kilowatt-class tactical mobile laser system designed to counter consumer-grade micro-drones and ground targets, such as improvised explosive devices and unexploded ordnance. It can be integrated with any detection or counter-drone system to destroy targets at distances ranging from several hundred meters to a maximum of meters.

Iron Beam laser system will work in close coordination with the existing Iron Dome air defense system, sharing the same command and control unit. The system will automatically and intelligently assign engagements to either the laser or traditional interceptor missiles based on factors such as threat type, distance, and weather conditions. Iron Beam can handle a large number of low-cost, low-complexity threats, thereby preserving expensive high-performance interceptor missiles for high-value targets that exceed the effective range of the laser or are difficult to intercept under adverse weather conditions. The system features high mobility and compact design, making it suitable for frontline deployment. It has a protection rating of IP55, allowing normal operation in moderate rain, and has withstood tests in 10-level strong winds. However, the effectiveness of laser weapons can significantly decline under severe weather conditions such as heavy rain, thick fog, or dense smoke due to beam scattering, thus requiring supplementary interception means.

The delivery and deployment of the Iron Beam system will have a profound impact on Israel's air defense combat system and defense economy. It reduces the cost of air defense operations, making it more economical to defend against large-scale rocket and drone salvos. Additionally, it adds an efficient and low-cost interception layer to Israel's missile defense network, significantly enhancing the sustained combat capability of the air defense system. Meanwhile, Rafael continues to showcase various variants of Iron Beam, including mobile standalone systems and naval versions, at trade shows in the United States, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, and other locations, aiming to secure foreign trade orders with full confidence!