'$3.50 Per Shot': Israel Successfully Tests Laser-Based Air Defence System 'Iron Beam'

Israel has successfully tested the new “Iron Beam” laser-based interception system, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said on Thursday (14 April).

Bennett claimed that the "Iron Beam" is the "world’s first energy-based weapons system" that uses a laser to shoot down incoming unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), rockets and mortars at a "cost of $3.50 per shot".

"It may sound like science fiction, but it's real," he said in a tweet.

The tests, that were carried out in Israel’s South by the Defense Ministry’s Directorate of Research and Development (DDR&D) and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, saw the laser system dubbed as “Iron Beam” successfully intercept a number of aerial targets including unmanned aerial vehicles, mortars, rockets and anti-tank missiles in various scenarios, reports The Jerusalem Post.

Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz said that Israel has become one of the first countries to succeed in developing powerful laser technology at operational standards that can carry out interceptions in operational scenarios.