The Iron Beam air-defense laser system has not been used by Israel and is not ready for regular use during the current war, the IDF said Thursday.
This admission came even though various forms of Iron Beam were used to shoot down about 40 Hezbollah drones in the fall of 2024. Furthermore, last December, the Defense Ministry said the Iron Beam had been rolled out in the field.
The IDF did not explain the discrepancy between its past use – and the many announcements to much fanfare about Iron Beam’s readiness – versus the statement that it is not being used in the current war and is not mature enough to be fully used.
Rafael, which designed the directed-energy air-defense system, declined to comment on any problems that Iron Beam might be encountering. It referred any questions to the Defense Ministry.
The Defense Ministry had not responded to requests for comment as of press time.
Lite Beam announced as operational in 2025
Last June, the Defense Ministry; Rafael, the lead company of multiple defense tech companies involved; Elbit, the system’s main developer; and others announced that Lite Beam, a smaller relative of Iron Beam, was operational.
In mid-September 2025, the Defense Ministry said Iron Beam was operational, and that a full series of batteries would be fanning out across the country to provide cutting-edge, air-defense capabilities within the coming months.
Last June, the ministry already disclosed that Israeli air-defense laser systems had shot down about 40 Hezbollah drones in October 2024.
If and when it is actually ready, Iron Beam has more power, a longer range, and can be used to defend against a wide array of threats, compared with Lite Beam, which has a shorter-range version of the system.
Secondly, Iron Beam, if and when it is ready, can specifically shoot down not only drones but also missiles, rockets, and mortars, making it far more formidable than if it was only capable of shooting down drones, a relatively slow-moving threat.
Last year, the Defense Ministry and the IDF said they had expected Iron Beam to immediately start reducing the cost of shooting down aerial threats. That issue has been out of control for Israel during this war, when tens of thousands of threats have been launched through the air at Israel on six fronts.
Firing Arrow interceptors can cost millions of shekels, and Iron Dome interceptors can cost tens of thousands of shekels, but firing the Iron Beam is as cheap as turning on a light bulb.
In light of the current setbacks to Iron Beam’s deployment, however, it is unclear when it will be useful in the field. It is even more unclear when it will be deployable in sufficient numbers to start to change the nature of the IDF’s air defense.
Some sources have said any move for Iron Beam to truly move ahead of Iron Dome as the lead short-range, air-defense system could take several years.
Using lasers to defend against long-range threats, such as Iran’s ballistic missiles, could take much longer, even five to10 years or longer, according to some projections.