Israel claims drone interceptions with high-power lasers

JERUSALEM — The Israeli military this week said it had intercepted about 40 unmanned aerial vehicles by high-power laser systems in the wider Gaza war, a first in a combat engagement.

The majority of interceptions were of Hezbollah UAVs from Israel’s Northern border, along with other unspecified battle arenas, the government said. The systems were operated by the Israeli Air Force’s new tactical air defense battalion, which was attached to the IDF’s Northern Command during the war.

The Israeli Ministry of Defense declined to specify which systems brought down the drones, saying only that no Iron Beam components were involved. Iron Beam describes Israel’s main laser-defense architecture, meant to work in tandem with the kinetic interceptor-based Iron Dome.

In released images accompanying the announcement, Rafael’s Lite Beam system can be seen. Israeli defense officials also point to an Iron Beam-M system that Rafael unveiled during last year’s AUSA exhibit in Washington.

A Rafael spokesperson declined to clarify which company weapons were involved in the combat engagement.

Rafael’s website says that the Lite Beam is a 10-kW class high energy laser weapon system (HELWS) for countering a wide range of low altitude aerial threats including small UAVs and swarms of drones alongside ground-based threats.

It is designed for light 4×4 vehicles as well as for 6×6, 8×8, and tracked armored fighting vehicles. The weapon focuses intense heat on a coin-sized spot, neutralizing up to 10 targets simultaneously at ranges of up to a few kilometers, according to Rafael.

The Iron Beam-M system is based on the larger Iron Beam system, but modified for mobility. According to Rafael, the system employs a 50-kW laser.

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——以色列军方本周表示，在加沙战争中，他们使用高功率激光系统拦截了约 40 架无人机，这是在实战中首次取得这样的成绩。

以色列政府表示，拦截的大部分无人机来自以色列北部边境以及其他未指明的战场，目标均为真主党无人机。这些系统由以色列空军新组建的战术防空营操作，该营在战争期间隶属于以色列国防军北方司令部。

以色列国防部拒绝透露击落无人机的具体系统，仅表示其中不涉及“铁光束”（Iron Beam）系统的任何组件。“铁光束”是以色列主要的激光防御系统，旨在与基于动能拦截器的“铁穹”（Iron Dome）系统协同工作。

在随公告发布的图片中，可以看到拉斐尔公司的“光束”（Lite Beam）系统。以色列国防官员还提到了拉斐尔公司去年在华盛顿举行的美国陆军协会（AUSA）展览会上推出的“铁束-M”（Iron Beam-M）系统。

拉斐尔公司发言人拒绝透露参与战斗的是该公司哪些武器。

拉斐尔公司的网站称，Lite Beam 是一款 10 千瓦级高能激光武器系统 (HELWS)，用于对抗各种低空空中威胁，包括小型无人机和无人机群，以及地面威胁。

该武器专为轻型4×4车辆以及6×6、8×8和履带式装甲战车设计。据拉斐尔公司称，该武器可将高强度热量集中于硬币大小的点上，在数公里范围内同时摧毁多达10个目标。

Iron Beam-M系统是在大型Iron Beam系统的基础上改进而来，以提高其移动性。据拉斐尔公司称，该系统采用了一台50千瓦的激光器。

特扎利·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。