A laser-based defense system Israel plans to deploy next year to block enemy rockets and drones will cost just $2 per interception, noted Prime Minister Naftali Bennett.
Bennett explained last week to the annual conference of the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) how Israel would not only improve its defenses, but undercut its enemies financially:
“Ahmed is sitting in Khan Yunis, loading the launcher with a self-made rocket that costs a few hundred dollars and is shooting it at Israel. Meanwhile, the Iron Dome interceptor [to stop that rocket] costs us tens of thousands of dollars. This is an illogical equation that allows Ahmed to launch more and more rockets while we spend millions… This is not a sustainable equation.
“We decided to break this equation… In about a year, the IDF will deploy a laser interception system. …This will allow us to surround Israel with a laser wall that protects us from missiles, rockets, UAVs and other threats. In fact, it will take away the strongest card the enemy has against us.
“The economic equation will be reversed; they will invest a lot and we will invest a little. If it is possible to intercept a missile or rocket with just an electric pulse that costs a few dollars, we will have nullified the ring of fire that Iran has set up on our borders. The whole thing no longer pays off.”
In a short video clip posted to Twitter, Bennett touted what’s being called the “Iron Beam” missile shield as a genuine game-changer.
Let’s do some math:
If firing a rocket at Israel costs terrorists $20,000
X
Intercepting that rocket costs Israel $100,000What would happen if Israel’s new “Iron Beam” laser system could intercept that rocket at $2 per shot?
Tables turned on terror & an equation redefined. pic.twitter.com/VWlWKEZpAk
— Naftali Bennett בנט (@naftalibennett) June 1, 2022
Israel’s Ministry of Defense and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems announced the completion in April of a series of tests using a high-powered, ground-based laser to intercept threats in the air.
The laser shot down unmanned aerial vehicles, mortars, rockets and anti-tank missiles during the trials.
With reporting by JNS.
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