Israel to Seek Biden Support for Laser Defense
The experimental system known as Iron Beam could provide another layer of defense against Iran in the Middle East
Israeli officials are expected to showcase an experimental laser air-defense system for President Biden during his Middle East visit next month in an effort to enlist American support for a project envisioned as a shield for Israel and its Arab neighbors against any Iranian attacks.
Known as Iron Beam, the laser-defense system has recently shown new promise in its ability to take down drones, rockets and mortars, fueling optimism in Israel that the project could provide the country with a new level of protection. Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett says the system is a potential game-changer in its defense against Iranian allies such as Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza.
“It may sound like science fiction, but it’s real,” Mr. Bennett said in April in releasing video showing successful tests of the Iron Beam system. “This is a game-changer.”
Dan Shapiro, a former U.S. ambassador to Israel and now a distinguished fellow at the Washington-based think tank Atlantic Council, said the Biden visit would be a chance for the president to get a close look at Iron Beam to see if the U.S. should fund the experimental project, as it has done with past projects. Congress is moving ahead with plans to send Israel another $1 billion for its Iron Dome air-defense system, which has shown great success in shooting down drones and rockets launched by Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip.
The Biden administration would “want to know if it’s mature enough to warrant a U.S. investment,” he said, noting the president could announce funding for Iron Beam on the trip.
Iron Beam represents the latest evolution in a decadeslong quest to develop a laser weapon. All of the major American defense contractors are involved in similar development programs, and the Pentagon is overseeing its own tests of laser weapons that have also shown some promise in testing.
Earlier this year, the U.S. Navy announced that it had successfully used a laser weapon developed by Lockheed Martin Corp. to take down a drone representing a cruise missile in flight.
Mr. Bennett has predicted that Israel’s Iron Beam could be ready for use early next year. One of the biggest selling points for Iron Beam is its cost savings.
Israel currently relies on the Iron Dome system to shoot down drones and rockets, but it costs between $50,000 and $100,000 per missile, and the system has to fire multiple missiles to successfully thwart attacks. Mr. Bennet said Iron Beam could eventually do the same thing for as little as $2 per interception.
Mr. Bennett has also used Iron Beam as a selling point in talks with Israel’s Arab neighbors.
Mr. Bennett said earlier this year that he hoped the laser system could “serve our friends in the region who are also exposed to severe threats from Iran and its proxies,” and in this way, “create alliances and become even stronger.”
At a March meeting in the Red Sea resort of Sharm El Sheikh with Egypt President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi and the United Arab Emirates’ de facto ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Mr. Bennett proposed a Middle East “defensive envelope” featuring the laser system, The Wall Street Journal has reported, citing people familiar with the talks.
While Mr. Bennett’s tenure is coming to an early end after his fractious coalition collapsed, whoever takes over as prime minister is expected to champion Iron Beam in much the same way.
But defense contractors and former Israeli military officials said Iron Beam and similar laser weapons still have a long way to go.
Uzi Rubin, a former director of the Israeli Defense Ministry’s Missile Defense, said he and “many of my colleagues think [Mr. Bennett] was kind of overenthusiastic” when talking about Iron Beam.
Mr. Rubin, now a senior fellow at the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security, said systems like Iron Beam would only be able to focus on single targets at a time and wouldn’t be effective against drone swarms or large rocket salvos, the latter of which are currently a looming threat for Israel.
“It’s an important technological breakthrough, to develop a solid-state laser interceptor, as part of the Iron Dome system, but it is not a game-changer, like Iron Dome, when it was introduced,” said Jacob Nagel, a former head of Israel’s National Security Council and now a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
Mr. Nagel said Iron Beam could eventually help defend against threats like drones, short-range missiles, artillery and mortars, but it is unlikely in the near future to be effective against targets like medium- or long-range ballistic missiles.
Laser interceptors, like Iron Beam, still have to contend with the fact that they can become unusable in cloudy weather, that they have to remain fixed on the target for several seconds, and that adversaries will likely be able to develop countermeasures.