Israel to mount lasers on fighter jets and helicopters

JERUSALEM — Elbit Systems will develop laser weapons for the Israeli Air Force to be installed on fighter jets and military helicopters, the company said on Tuesday.

Elbit revealed plans to that effect during the presentation of financial statements for 2025, though the company has kept technical details and information about the envisioned timing under wraps.

Israel ordered the system amid its joint military operation with the United States against Iran, “Epic Fury,” in which it is dealing with missile and drones fired from Iran and Lebanon.

Israel already possesses the Iron Beam laser-based defense system against these threats. Developed by Rafael, it became operational at the end of 2025. It consists of ground-based laser guns with 10 to 100 kilowatts of power, enabling a range of 2 to 10 kilometers.

Despite its effectiveness and low interception cost, Iron Beam faces a number of obstacles related mainly to atmospheric conditions on the ground.

“Putting a high-power laser in the air will enable us first to overcome some of the challenges of the ground, like weather and dust and turbulence,” said Bezhalel Machlis, president and CEO of Elbit Systems. “Flying above clouds will enable us to gain more ranges and to be more effective, and also to eliminate the threats far away from our borders.”

He said the requisite engineering work for taking the technology airborne is at an advanced stage. “When the solution will be mature and operational, I believe it will be a breakthrough in the way countries are defeating swarms and other type of threats,” Machlis said.

He hinted at a possible offensive application, too, saying, “High-Power Laser is not just a defensive weapon.”

Tzally Greenberg is the Israel correspondent for Defense News. He has experience reporting on economic affairs as well as defense and cyber companies.

耶路撒冷——埃尔比特系统公司周二表示，该公司将为以色列空军开发激光武器，用于安装在战斗机和军用直升机上。

Elbit 在发布 2025 年财务报表时透露了相关计划，但该公司一直对技术细节和预期时间安排等信息秘而不宣。

以色列在与美国联合对伊朗发起的代号为“史诗狂怒”的军事行动中订购了这套系统，该行动旨在应对伊朗和黎巴嫩发射的导弹和无人机。

以色列已经拥有用于应对这些威胁的“铁束”激光防御系统。该系统由拉斐尔公司研发，于2025年底投入使用。它由功率为10至100千瓦的地面激光炮组成，射程为2至10公里。

尽管“铁束”系统具有高效性和低拦截成本，但它仍面临许多障碍，这些障碍主要与地面大气条件有关。

“将高功率激光器送入空中，首先能够帮助我们克服地面作战的一些挑战，例如天气、沙尘和湍流，”埃尔比特系统公司总裁兼首席执行官贝扎莱尔·马赫利斯表示。“飞越云层将使我们能够获得更远的作战距离，提高作战效率，并消除远离我们边境的威胁。”

他表示，将这项技术应用于空中所需的工程工作已进入后期阶段。“我相信，当这项解决方案成熟并投入使用时，它将在各国应对蜂群攻击和其他类型威胁的方式上取得突破性进展。”马赫利斯说道。

他还暗示了高功率激光可能具有进攻性用途，并表示：“高功率激光不仅仅是一种防御性武器。”

扎利·格林伯格是《防务新闻》的以色列记者。他拥有丰富的经济事务以及国防和网络安全公司报道经验。