Viga de Ferro, “iron beam”. It is the new weapon in the hands of Israel that will soon be used by the forces in Tel Aviv. Tested a year ago, the Iron Beam is the laser cannon that the Israel Defense Forces is ready to bring into the field to shoot down enemy missiles, rockets and drones. Once on the ground, it will be the army’s most sophisticated weapon and will further strengthen the country’s defensive capabilities and air protection. An iron beam that will accompany the Iron Dome, the mobile shield at the forefront of Tel Aviv’s defense systems, which has so far proven capable of protecting Israeli skies and cities from Hamas missile attacks. But why does the Iron Beam scare Israel’s enemies so much? Designed – as we said – to intercept a wide range of threats, it can attack from a distance of kilometers making vector launches useless.
And what would distinguish it from the Iron Dome? While the current defense system fires guided missiles to intercept incoming projectiles, the new weapon uses laser beams to heat them to the point of destruction. But his real strength is his speed. It can destroy a target in flight in a very short time, within 4-5 seconds of firing. Then there is an obvious economic advantage. The costs are significantly lower: 2,000 US dollars per shot, compared to 100/150,000 dollars to intercept a fired missile. Furthermore, current laser power levels are around 100 kW and are expected to increase in the future for greater destructive capacity.
But those who have seen the laser system also raise some doubts about how it works. In fact, the Iron Beam may not work efficiently during periods of poor visibility or in adverse weather conditions. To overcome the problem, the Israeli authorities are considering mounting this system on planes as well. Despite the difficulties, however, the deployment of the Iron Beam is critical for Tel Aviv: Iran, Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas have made the deployment of the new weapon necessary more than ever, and with such a wide-area threat, the Iron Beam will have a lot of work to do.
Source: IL Tempo
John Cameron is a journalist at The Nation View specializing in world news and current events, particularly in international politics and diplomacy. With expertise in international relations, he covers a range of topics including conflicts, politics and economic trends.
