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For the first time in the history of military technology, laser weapons have destroyed aerial targets in combat, reports futurezone. According to the Israeli army, dozens of Hezbollah drones were shot down with the laser built by the armaments company Rafael Advanced Defense Systems. Many countries are currently working on laser weapons for air defense. While most of them are still in the test phase, Israel claims to be the first country in the world to have successfully used such a laser in combat.
Laser system from "Iron Beam" developer Rafael
However, this is not Iron Beam, which is intended to supplement Israel's Iron Dome missile-based defense system in the future. The name of the laser system is still a secret. All that is known is that it was developed by the Israeli company Rafael. Rafael is also behind Iron Beam. The company has confirmed the combat deployment on X, but is also not giving any names or details about the system.
According to the Israeli army, the laser is being used against Hezbollah drones in the north of the country. The size and type of the drones, and whether the laser also intercepted rockets and grenades, is not known. A video by Rafael shows the shooting down of a drone that Hezbollah has already used against Israel several times. It is likely to be an Iranian Shahed 101 or a variant of it. Depending on the version, this kamikaze drone can carry 8 to 10 kg of explosives and has a range of up to 900 km.
Weapon has hit drone wing
In the video, the laser specifically targeted the wings of the drone. The more important targets would be the warhead or the engine, because the drone would either explode in the air or crash immediately. However, the wing is thinner and therefore less protected against the laser. This indicates that the power of the laser may be too low to reliably destroy the vital points of a slightly larger fixed-wing drone.
According to futurezone, this in turn suggests that the laser has an output in the range of 30 to 50 kilowatts. By comparison, Iron Beam, when operational, is said to have at least 100 kW of power to destroy drones, missiles and grenades up to 10 km away.
https://www.trendingtopics.eu/laser-zerstoert-erstmals-drohnen-im-kampfeinsatz/
