As one of the world’s most advanced and comprehensive defense systems,
the Iron Dome is capable of effectively countering rockets, artillery, mortars,
aircraft, drones, and precision-guided munitions over a vast region.
However, the Israeli defensive network is a highly complex and expensive solution,
with each interceptor costing up to 100,000 dollars to deploy.
For that reason, the system is only activated when human lives are in danger.
A new breakthrough, however, is about to shatter the price limitations of the world’s
most advanced defense system as a new ‘Iron Dome’ technology reaches the final phase of development.
When updated with the Iron Beam equipment, the Iron Dome will be able to use laser beams
to blow missiles out of the sky at a fraction of the cost of previous interceptor missiles.
The state-of-the-art development will not only bring Israel’s defenses to a
new age of security and dependability, but it also signals the possibility of a future
defensive dome capable of blocking even the fastest intercontinental ballistic missiles…
Aiming For Perfection
The Iron Dome is already one of the most reliable and successful defense mechanisms in the world;
it had a 90 percent rate of success when it was first launched in 2011,
and it has achieved roughly 97 percent of success rate in 2022.
During its operational history, the system has successfully stopped thousands of attacks,
saving countless lives in the process. However,
the system is costly to deploy and maintain despite its reliability and constant improvement.
Each anti-missile battery costs the Israeli government approximately 50 million dollars
to deploy, and each attack interception carries a 150,000-dollar price tag on average,
not counting the maintenance costs of the batteries and the radar systems.
This high cost has led the Israel Defense Forces to carefully ration the use of the Iron Dome,
prioritizing the protection of highly populated areas above anything else.
Such limitation is only natural, as each Tamir interceptor missile launched
by the batteries is an expensive and complex piece of machinery.
Fitted with electro-optic sensors and several steering fins that allow intelligent and
responsive travel through the air, the Tamir interceptors cost around 100,000 dollars to
deploy. Although excessive, the cost of the Tamir pales in comparison with the Patriot Guided
Missile, which is also used by the Iron Dome and whose price can reach millions of dollars.
Because of these constraints, the Israel Defense Forces have invested heavily in
improving the reliability of the Iron Dome but also making it a much cheaper system to deploy,
all while aiming at that 100 percent success rate objective.
The recent unveiling of the groundbreaking Iron Dome technology seems to be the
perfect solution to guarantee the future of the Iron Dome system.
The technology consists of a mobile laser battery with an air defense radar,
a command-and-control unit, and two High Energy Laser systems. The
high-performance laser cannons are expected to produce 100 to 150 kilowatts of power.
The system is designed to complement the current Iron Dome configuration and not to
replace the existing batteries. As of now, the laser guns can only intercept attacks
within a maximum effective range of up to 12 miles, which means conventional Tamir
and Patriot missile batteries will still be required to stop longer-range attacks.
Nevertheless, if the laser batteries can take off a fraction of the load of conventional batteries,
the cost decrease would be astronomical as it is estimated that each Iron Beam
interception will only cost around 3.50 dollars.
Another significant advantage of the Iron Beam is that it can intercept attacks that
are too close for Tamir deployments, and it is silent and invisible,
making it almost impossible for the enemy to pinpoint the location of the firing battery.
As if that weren’t enough, the light-based system is incredibly fast and can intercept
a threat in just a fraction of a second; in contrast, it takes up to five seconds
from first contact until the missile is disabled with current technology.
The Iron Beam is also far more accurate when compared to conventional interceptor missile
batteries that need to fire several projectiles to stop an enemy attack,
and it doesn’t need to waste resources to bring a target down.
Functionality and Testing
The Iron Beam begins working when the surveillance unit made from specialized radar and sensors
detects an incoming threat. The device then transmits the data to a command center,
where Israeli military personnel assess the danger and decide to deploy the interceptor laser.
Once the call to activate the system is made, the laser gun system is activated.
The laser battery is configured by a swiveling gun mounted on a platform and shielded from the back,
and the weapon uses the data provided by the radar to lock
into the incoming target and fire a 150-kilowatt beam into the objective.
As the laser beam strikes the enemy missile, it delivers a hundred times
more energy than an average American home, drastically overheating the enemy projectile
and causing it to explode prematurely or rendering its systems ineffective.
A series of tests conducted in 2022 showed the system to be
highly effective at bringing down missiles within a 12-mile range. During the trials,
the Iron Beam also successfully shot down drones, rockets, mortar bombs, and anti-tank missiles.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett stated in February that Israel would deploy the Iron
Beam within the same year. Nevertheless, the system still showcases several issues
that might delay its incorporation into the Iron Dome defense network.
For starters, the Iron Beam is highly susceptible to bad weather conditions, which can severely
hamper the threat detection unit and the range and output power delivered by the laser.
Being a light amplification weapon, the light ray loses potency as it bounces off air,
dust, and smoke particles, and the more particles in the environment,
like those on a foggy day, the less effective the system becomes.
Even on a clear and sunny day, the regular air particles in the sky slowly decrease the beam’s
intensity as it travels, resulting in the system having an operational range of only 12 miles.
However, the Israel Defense Forces have reached
out to the US Defense Department to work together to overcome these limitations.
The Future
Several nations across the globe are currently racing to develop
state-of-the-art laser weapons for a new generation of warfare.
The US has so far unveiled the most impressive system, with a laser gun capable of outputting
300 kilowatts of power and reaching a range of up to 24 miles, double what the Iron Beam can do.
As formidable as it sounds, even American laser guns pale compared to conventional
missile anti-air defenses, which can intercept targets at a distance of over 50 miles. Still,
the reliability and low cost of laser weapons make them the ideal solution for future investment.
Collaboration between Israel and the US could lead to a much more sophisticated Iron Beam,
overcoming most of the downsides associated with energy weapons.
If the range and intensity of laser weapons continue to progress,
the technology could reach the point where the interceptor beams could destroy their
targets in a split second while at a much more extended range.
Such a breakthrough would be the first step in developing an Iron Dome-like
system capable of intercepting supersonic missiles and even intercontinental ballistic
nuclear warheads opening up a whole new chapter in the global nuclear stand-off.
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