Israel’s ‘Iron Beam’, designed to use high-power laser to down projectiles, will be operational within a year, according to reports. The laser defense system will complement the country’s Iron Dome and other defense systems, heralding in a “new era of warfare”, the Israeli defence ministry said.

Costing Israel over $500 million, the Iron Beam will engage and neutralise missiles, drones, rockets and mortars at a time the country is at war with the Hamas in Palestine and Hezbollah in Iran. Retaliatory strikes between the three countries have caused widespread destruction, recently hitting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s residence in the coastal city of Caesarea.

Developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, architect of Israel’s Iron Dome, and Elbit Systems, the Iron Beam can engage at the speed of light from a range of hundreds of meters to several kilometers. It has an unlimited magazine, almost zero cost per interception and causes minimal collateral damage.

Israel’s defence ministry said that the Iron Beam will shoot down the smaller projectiles, while larger targets like ballistic missiles will be tackled by the Arrow 2 and Arrow 3 interceptors. The system will heat and destroy the target, including drones, which are small, light and have a low radar signature, making them tough targets for the Iron Dome, experts told CNN.

Further, the system will function at a fraction of the cost that goes into operating the Iron Dome. Tel Aviv think tank Institute for National Security Studies said each interceptor missile fired by the Iron Dome costs approximately $50,000.

The system, however, does not operate well in low visibility conditions, including inclement weather.

Meanwhile, the United States said it will deploy B-52 bombers, fighter jets, refueling aircraft and Navy destroyers to the Middle East, in a readjustment of military assets as the Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group prepares to leave the region. The latest adjustment in US forces in the region follows direct exchanges of fire in October between Israel and Iran. 

Since late September Israel has been fighting a two-front war, against Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon and against Hamas, which triggered the Gaza war by attacking Israel on October 7 last year. Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures. Israel’s retaliatory military campaign has killed 43,259 people in Gaza, most of them civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry which the United Nations considers reliable.

US, Egyptian and Qatari mediators have tried for months to broker a truce and hostages for prisoners exchange for Gaza.