After Iron Beam played only a limited role during the 2026 war with Iran, Israel is preparing a major expansion of its laser defense network, aiming to intercept more rockets and drones while dramatically reducing the cost of protecting the country.
By Hezy Laing
Israel is moving to give its Iron Beam laser defense system a much larger role in protecting the country, following a war with Iran that exposed the limitations of its current deployment.
According to recent reports, Israel is making significant progress in producing additional Iron Beam systems, with the goal of integrating laser defenses more extensively into the country’s air defense network by the end of 2026.
The expansion could change how Israel handles sustained attacks, particularly from relatively inexpensive drones and rockets that force the military to spend enormous sums on interceptor missiles.
Why Iron Beam played a limited role in the Iran war
Despite its impressive capabilities, Iron Beam saw only limited action during the early 2026 war with Iran.
On May 1, the Israeli Air Force explained that the military needed approximately 14 batteries to achieve a significant operational impact.
The issue was not that the laser technology had failed, but that Israel had not yet deployed enough systems to provide meaningful coverage.
The IDF had already acknowledged in March that Iron Beam was not being used regularly during the fighting.
Israel is now working to increase the number of available systems so that laser defense can become a much more substantial part of its response to future attacks from Iran and Hezbollah.
A powerful laser with a major cost advantage
Developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems in cooperation with Israel’s Defense Ministry, Iron Beam is a 100-kilowatt-class laser weapon designed to engage aerial threats at distances of up to 10 kilometers.
It can destroy suitable targets, including rockets, mortar shells, and drones, by concentrating an extremely powerful beam of energy on them until the heat damages or destroys the incoming weapon.
Its greatest advantage, however, may be financial.
An Iron Dome interceptor is commonly estimated to cost around $50,000, while an Arrow interceptor can cost millions of dollars.
Iron Beam works differently, using electricity rather than an expensive missile to destroy an incoming target. The electricity required for an individual engagement can cost only a few dollars.
The laser systems themselves are expensive to manufacture, deploy, and maintain, but once operational, their cost per engagement is dramatically lower than that of conventional interceptors.
This difference could become especially important during prolonged conflicts, when Israel faces repeated waves of inexpensive enemy drones and rockets.
An enemy should not be able to force Israel to spend tens of thousands of dollars every time it launches a relatively cheap drone.
Israel has already demonstrated laser weapons in combat
Israel has already shown that laser technology can work against real battlefield threats.
During the fighting against Hezbollah in 2024, earlier versions of Rafael’s laser technology were used to intercept approximately 40 drones.
These were prototype systems rather than the full-scale Iron Beam platform, which was still undergoing development at the time.
In September 2025, the Defense Ministry announced that Iron Beam had successfully completed an extensive series of tests, intercepting rockets, mortar shells, aircraft, and drones.
On December 28, 2025, the ministry formally delivered the first operational high-power Iron Beam system to the IDF, marking a major transition from development to operational deployment.
Preparing for the next wave of drone attacks
Iron Beam is part of a broader effort to strengthen Israel’s defenses against increasingly varied aerial threats, including the small first-person-view drones that have become a growing concern in the region.
These inexpensive drones can fly at low altitudes and present a different challenge from conventional rockets, prompting Israel to develop additional defenses such as short-range guns, electronic warfare systems, nets, and interceptor drones.
Iron Beam also has limitations. Heavy cloud cover, fog, rain, and dust can interfere with the laser beam, making it less effective under certain weather conditions.
This is why Israel will continue to depend on Iron Dome, David’s Sling, Arrow, and other defensive systems rather than relying on lasers alone.
The objective is to build a layered defense network in which each system handles the threats it is best suited to destroy.
As more Iron Beam batteries enter service, Israel could gain a significant advantage in future conflicts: the ability to intercept large numbers of incoming drones and rockets without allowing the financial cost of defending the country to become a weakness that its enemies can exploit.
