Lockheed Martin, Rafael to Develop Laser Weapon Against Rockets, UAVs

Lockheed Martin and Israeli company, Rafael have agreed to jointly develop and manufacture a ground-based High Energy Laser Weapon Systems (HELWS) for use against rockets, UAVs and mortars.
The future joint-development will be based on the assets that have been developed independently by RAFAEL and the Israeli Ministry of Defense's Directorate of Defense Research and Development (DDR&D) within the framework of the IRON BEAM project.
The cooperation will be geared towards developing a variant of the system for the American market as well as others.
Last year, a series of tests on the IRON BEAM system was carried out that proved the operational capability of the system. IRON BEAM is a 100kW-class HELWS, expected to be the first-ever operational system for ground-based air defense against threats such as rockets, mortars and UAV’s.
IRON BEAM is set to be integrated into Israel’s multi-layered air defense array. The cost-effective and operationally efficient solution will be able to counter emerging threats, while also defending critical infrastructure, strategic sites, maneuvering forces, and population centers.
"We see the capability of IRON BEAM which was developed alongside the DDR&D as a technological breakthrough, with its proven effectiveness against some of the most sophisticated threats including rockets, mortars, drones and UAVs, including in swarms," said Executive Vice President Dr. Ran Gozali, Head of the Land and Naval Systems Directorate at Rafael.