An inside look at Israels laser defense capabilities | The Jerusalem Post

Elbit is the company that developed the Iron Beam laser itself. Elbit is the sole actor working on applying the recently deployed ground-based air defense for aircraft, so that aerial threats will eventually can be shot down from much closer range, and at times, from above.

Lasers are used to cut or drill holes into metals and other hard materials by burning, melting or vaporizing them. These processes have multiple industrial applications across various industries and production lines.

Mirrors, lenses, and compressed gases (such as carbon dioxide) generally allow technicians to adjust the laser's focus through a nozzle, after which the narrow beam then melts or burns away the material.

A fiber laser cutter is the most recently invented laser-based machine, using a medium of optical fibers; it is less expensive to make than gas or crystal laser cutters.

It also has a higher power output.

CBC and phase modulators are also used in a variety of private sector contexts, sometimes numbering as few as 10, but Iron Beam uses a much larger number.

In the private sector, CBC allows defense and industrial systems to scale low-power, single-emitter fiber lasers into a singular high-power and destructive laser beam.

Companies, including Elbit at times, use active phase control to lock the relative phases of hundreds of individual lasers to develop perfect constructive interference, which dramatically increases a laser's intensity and range.

Online pictures of machines using CBC and phase modulator technology show layers of small, interconnected discs being used to weave the laser beam together.

Even then, Ben David made sure to emphasize this: “Don't touch anything.â€

Responding to a question about the drone threat, Ben David said, “First, currently, many countries are fighting against drones and against cruise missiles with air-to-air missiles. That's a very expensive fight, and it's not sustainable. Because of that, we thought that bringing [the] high-power laser to the air will create a new situation, where we actually are becoming the asymmetric power player.â€

In March of this year, Elbit Systems President and CEO Bezhalel Machlis responded to a question about the drone threat and lasers at a briefing relating to investors. “Putting a high-power laser in the air enables us to first overcome some of the challenges of the ground, like weather and dust and turbulence,†Machlis said. “Flying above the clouds will enable us to gain more range and be more effective, and also to eliminate the threats far away from our borders. Now, from a technical point of view, it's not an easy task.â€

Machlis explained: “You need to miniaturize the elements. While moving, you need to lock yourself on a target and in a very precise way. We were able to overcome all these challenges, and we are very advanced in the development. When the solution will be mature and operational, I believe it will be a breakthrough in the way countries are defeating swarms and other types of threats.â€

“Using lasers to shoot down aerial threats, air-to-air at the same height or from above, has a number of distinct advantages over ground-based laser defense,†Ben David stated.

Aerial lasers are the holy grail of lasers, as they can be used more quickly and effectively on both defense and offense. Ground-based lasers, in contrast, must adjust their direction and target far more slowly.

When firing a laser from the ground to the air, one faces a variety of environmental challenges: friction, wind, turbulence, the temperature and intensity of the laser beam as it barrels toward its target, and the electromagnetic interference or dust in the air.

Because of all these factors, firing a laser from the ground requires high wattage, so that it can travel farther and compete with the elements.

Engineers work to keep the laser's beam hot and its inner machinery cool, so that it does not overheat and cease to function. A related challenge is developing a coating for the glass to make sure it neither overheats nor explodes.

Once in the air, especially at 20,000 or 30,000 feet, many of the elements that reduce the laser's intensity are themselves diminished. Because of this, lasers meant to be placed on aircraft can be smaller and less intense than their grounded counterparts. This saves on money, energy, weight, and wattage.

Air-based lasers, however, suffer their own unique set of challenges.

One challenge is the aircraft shaking before and during the firing of the laser, which can throw off the laser's aim.

An additional challenge is to figure out how to ensure water flow during the 3D printing process, as that process results in overheating and needs to be cooled down to avoid malfunctions and damage to relevant equipment. However, unalterated water flow can damage the sensitive electronic equipment.

Elbit has needed hundreds of engineers to evaluate and solve a host of unique problems that no one has ever tried to solve before.

AI cannot solve all of these issues. Instead, Elbit has needed human beings, who have the ability to fail and then dissect their failures to finally arrive at the solution that finally works.

In a presentation at a 2025 briefing, Elbit alluded to the idea that Israeli F15 fighter jets, – which, according to foreign sources, can hold heavy ballistic missiles – could be outfitted with lasers and take the lead of Israel's next generation of air defense.

Elbit also suggested that Israel's UH-60A/L Yanshuf helicopter could be fitted with the Sting laser demonstrator in its cabin, engaging and neutralizing loitering munitions.

The concept was presented during Elbit's 2025 financial results briefing, where the company outlined its progress.

An animated video shown at the event depicted an F-15I Ra'am equipped with an under-fuselage XCalibur pod intercepting a cruise missile and a Shahed-style drone.

Other scenes also showed a UH-60A/L Yanshuf helicopter fitted with the Sting laser demonstrator in its cabin, engaging and neutralizing loitering munitions.

The Elbit laser may not be the answer to every threat. At least, not initially.

It may not fare well against smaller targets – such as Hezbollah's extremely tiny FPV drones, which it has used against IDF troops in Lebanon in recent months.

What about Iranian ballistic missiles?

For now, Elbit's is focused on shooting down regular drones. Someday, however, it will progress towards downing ballistic missiles, the greatest conventional threat that Israel faces.

The US has a little-known air-based laser defense program, which it used specifically to shoot down ballistic and cruise missiles as needed from the 1980s until 2011.

In 2011, the Airborne Laser anti-ballistic missile system (ABL) developed by Boeing was cancelled, as it was deemed impractical in terms of deployment and expenses.

As top US defense officials explained, to use that particular laser at the time, a US aircraft would need to already be flying and hovering in enemy airspace. This would only be realistic if an operation to remove enemy aerial threats had already occurred, and would need a deployment of 10-20 Boeing 747 jets at around $1.5 billion per jet.

In the 15 years that have passed, the world has seen a variety of game-changers. Elbit's solution, if – and when – it works, could conceivably cover longer distances at  more affordable (though not cheap) costs.

Just as importantly, Israel is making a different cost comparison.

The US in 2011 was preparing for a theoretical ballistic missile attack, which may have involved only a small number of missiles. In 2026, Israel has endured over 1,500 ballistic missiles and has had to use countless Arrow interceptors, each at a cost of $2-3 million, to shoot them down.

This means that any cost to Israel will be calculated not by theory, but by those numbers.

Currently, there is no immediate or even medium-term timeline on when the aerial laser defense will be ready.

The success of the Iron Beam and other advances inspires much confidence, however. If a year or two ago, people were predicting that these systems would have a development time of five to 10 years, then that timeframe has been drastically shortened. Elbit's lasers may not be ready in the imminent future, but they may be ready a good deal sooner rather than later.

IDF 9900 officers and space war expert Tal Inbar have discussed Israeli efforts to defend its assets in space from its adversaries.

Previous Russian and Chinese tests, which used anti-satellite weapons, have caused dangerous debris to perpetually circulate within Earth's orbit, along with naturally formed asteroid pieces.

The debris may be potentially eliminated or reduced by lasers, which can destroy an object without breaking it into smaller pieces.

Lasers are also already used in a variety of other military capacities, such as to designate targets for Zik class drones or to jam aerial threats fired at various aircraft using the DIRCM (a form of laser jamming).