Israel’s most ambitious and closely watched defense project in years is no longer theoretical. The Defense Ministry announced Monday that the “Iron Beam” laser-interception system has officially completed its development and testing phase and will begin deployment to the IDF at the end of the month — a milestone defense officials say will fundamentally change the future of combat in the region.

Brig. Gen. (Res.) Dr. Daniel Gold, head of the Directorate for Defense, Research and Development (DDR&D), made the announcement onstage at the annual DefenseTech Week conference in Tel Aviv.

“The development of the ‘Iron Beam’ laser system has been completed,” Gold said. “We are preparing to deliver the first capability to the IDF on December 30, 2025 — and simultaneously, we are already working on the next generations.”

The Iron Beam system, developed over years by DDR&D engineers and defense-industry partners, uses directed-energy lasers to intercept rockets, drones, mortars, and other short-range threats. Its most revolutionary advantage: interceptions that cost dollars, not tens of thousands of dollars, per shot.

Israel’s traditional kinetic interceptors — such as those used by the Iron Dome — carry enormous financial burdens. The Iron Beam, if it performs as promised during wartime conditions, could dramatically alter the cost calculus of defending Israeli cities, bases, and critical infrastructure.

Gold said the laser has already proven its performance in a series of full-scale trials, clearing the path for deployment and future upgrades. “The system will be a major breakthrough in Israel’s air-defense capability,” he said.

Gold also drew a direct line between the system’s accelerated development and lessons learned from Israel’s recent combat operations.

“The achievements during the operations are unprecedented,” he said. “The operation provided a glimpse into the ‘surprise repository’ — powerful, groundbreaking Israeli technologies developed over generations.”

He described the DDR&D as a relentless engine of innovation, already deep into work on “the next generations of surprises for the next war — in space, in attack, and in defense.”

Gold also highlighted a quiet revolution reshaping Israel’s defense ecosystem: startups are now outpacing traditional defense giants.

“The game has changed,” he said. “Startups are now competing head-to-head with the large companies — and winning.”

He cited a recent DDR&D tender for offensive drone systems, in which multiple small startups beat out longstanding industry titans to supply new platforms to the IDF. The moment, he suggested, reflects a broader transformation in how Israel develops its military capabilities: faster, leaner, and more experimental.

With Iron Beam’s first operational units arriving on December 30, Israel appears poised to become the first country in the world to field an operational laser-interception system at scale.

A successful rollout would not only strengthen Israel’s multi-layered air-defense network but could reverberate globally, reshaping adversaries’ calculations and influencing how modern militaries respond to low-cost aerial threats.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)