Israel speeds roll-out of laser interceptors for thriftier defense | ABS-CBN

ADVERTISEMENT

dpo-dps-seal
Welcome, Kapamilya! We use cookies to improve your browsing experience. Continuing to use this site means you agree to our use of cookies. Tell me more!

Israel speeds roll-out of laser interceptors for thriftier defense

Dan Williams,

Reuters

Clipboard

Israel
Israel's Iron Dome missile defense system (left) intercepts rockets (right) fired by the Hamas movement from Gaza city towards Israel. Mohammed Abed, AFP

JERUSALEM - Israel is accelerating the roll-out of laser-based interceptors as part of a plan to surround itself with such technologies and reduce the high costs currently incurred when shooting down aerial threats, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said on Tuesday.

Lifting the veil on prototype interceptors that would use lasers to super-heat incoming drones or the kinds of rockets favored by Iran-backed guerrillas, Israeli defense officials predicted last June such systems would be ready for action in 2025.

But Bennett announced a dramatically shortened timeline.

"Within a year already the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) will bring into action a laser-based interception system, first experimentally, and later operationally, first in the south, then in other places," he said in a speech.

ADVERTISEMENT

Gaza, from which Hamas and other militant groups have regularly shelled Israeli border towns, is to the south.

"And this will enable us, as the years advance, to surround Israel with a wall of lasers which will protect us from missiles, rockets, UAVs and other threats," he told Tel Aviv University's Institute for National Security Studies.

Bennett was speaking about Israel's efforts to counter what it sees as Iranian efforts to encircle it with guerrillas capable of paralyzing its infrastructure with relatively inexpensive barrages.

The laser system would be an addition to Israel's current air defenses based on Iron Dome, David's Sling and Arrow - systems that launch interceptor missiles costing tens of thousands of dollars to millions of dollars each.

"The equation will be overturned - they will invest much, and we little," Bennett said.

"If we can intercept a missile or rocket with an electrical pulse that costs a few dollars, we will essentially neutralize the ring of fire that Iran has set up ... This new generation of air defense can also serve our friends in the region, who are also exposed to grave threats from Iran and its proxies. (Writing by Dan Williams; Editing by Andrea Ricci)

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

It looks like you’re using an ad blocker

Our website is made possible by displaying online advertisements to our visitors. Please consider supporting us by disabling your ad blocker on our website.

Our website is made possible by displaying online advertisements to our visitors. Please consider supporting us by disabling your ad blocker on our website.