Biden’s Visit to Israel: Unveiling Laser Weapon to Counter Iranian Drone Threat
Shortly after Joe Biden’s arrival in Israel on Wednesday, July 13, the country’s military showcased new hardware or laser weapons designed to counter the threat of Iranian drones to the American president.
Israeli leaders have long declared one of their main objectives to be countering Iran’s nuclear ambitions, but it appears that recently their concerns and warnings about the threat posed by Iranian drones have also become more prominent.
Recently, the Israeli military announced that it had tracked four unarmed drones heading toward a gas extraction platform in the Mediterranean Sea. According to the Israeli military, these drones were of Iranian manufacture and were launched by Hezbollah in Lebanon.
As concerns about the threat of Iranian-made drones have increased, the Israeli military hopes to use laser weapons called “Iron Beam” to secure the country’s airspace. Although this weapons system is not yet operational, Naftali Bennett, Israel’s prime minister at the time, described it as a “game changer” in April.
On Wednesday, the Israeli military displayed images of Iranian-made drones detected by the air defense system called “Iron Dome” and new laser equipment called “Iron Beam” to the American president.
Daniel Gold, head of the research division of Israel’s Defense Ministry, told the French news agency: “The Iron Beam system will become operational over the next few years and will be integrated into the Iron Dome air defense system.”
According to him, these two systems will complement each other, and the command and control center can decide at any moment whether to fire a missile or a laser.
The U.S. government approved a one billion dollar aid package for “Iron Dome” in September and the demonstration of the “Iron Beam” defense system to the American president is considered a strategic move to secure support and assistance from Washington.
“Iron Dome” plays a vital role in tracking and destroying missiles fired by Hamas from the Gaza Strip toward Israel. Each missile interception by this system costs approximately 50,000 dollars. While Naftali Bennett announced that the cost of each use of the “Iron Beam” laser system is only 3.5 dollars. He said that this defense system is “silent” and capable of tracking and destroying drones, mortar shells, missiles, and anti-tank missiles.
Uzi Rubin, a former expert on missile defense systems in the Israeli military, believes that tracking drones is a major challenge. He told the French news agency: “Laser technology has greater capabilities for dealing with drones compared to rockets and missiles. Receiving financial assistance from America in this field will play an important role.”
Israel’s priority during Joe Biden’s visit to the Middle East is to secure American support for military and security cooperation among countries that consider Iran a serious threat.
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have also been targets of drone attacks by Houthi insurgents in recent years, and most experts assess that Iran is providing them with these drones.
The Wall Street Journal reported last month that American and Israeli military officials traveled to Cairo to negotiate with officials about the threat of Iranian drones. In these negotiations, representatives from the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar also participated.
Mr. Biden, in his first speech after arriving in Tel Aviv, said: “We will continue our efforts to further integrate Israel into the region.”
Defense experts in Israel say that the armed forces, and especially the navy, have predicted since 2009 that Hezbollah drones would become a serious threat to natural gas extraction facilities in the Mediterranean Sea.
They point out that Iran realized long ago that the use of drones multiplies power and the scope of offensive operations many times over.
The “European Council on Foreign Relations” research institute said in a report published in May: “Iran is becoming an important drone power at the regional level. For years, Iran has started mass production of reconnaissance and attack drones due to urgent need and to compensate for the weaknesses of its aging air force.”
On Monday, the White House National Security Advisor said that security information indicates that Iran is preparing itself to deliver hundreds of drones to Russia in a short timeframe.
Israel, while strengthening its defensive capabilities against the threat of Iranian drones and developing regional military cooperation, may also resort to aggression. One example of Israel’s aggressive actions was an attack on one of Iran’s hidden and underground military drone bases in Kermanshah Province in March of this year.
Source: Radio Farda
