Iron Beam deal paves the way for the development of US variant
Iron Beam has been successfully demonstrated against a range of targets. (Photo: Rafael)
Iron Beam is a 100kW-class high-energy laser weapon system (HELWS) designed to defend against rockets, mortars and UAVs.
An agreement between Lockheed Martin and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems is set to pave the way towards developing a variant of the HELWS for the US and other markets.
Under a teaming agreement, the two firms will jointly develop, test and manufacture laser weapons in the US and Israel, building on assets developed independently by Rafael and the Israeli MoD's Directorate of Defence Research and Development (DDR&D) under the Iron Beam project framework.
Laser weapons are being widely developed globally for air defence purposes as they are not limited by the expense of munitions or magazine size, but rather the ability to generate power.
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In the last year, the operational capability of Iron Beam was proven in a series of tests. Iron Beam is expected to achieve IOC within the next two years.
In July, US President Joe Biden was shown the Iron Beam system.
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