
The Israeli Ministry of Defense on Tuesday unveiled a $537 million deal to increase serial production of the laser interception system Iron Beam with primary developers and producers Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and Elbit Systems [ESLT]. Iron Beam is Israel’s ground-based 100-kilowatt laser system meant to intercept unmanned aerial vehicles, mortars, rockets and some cruise missiles, complementing the Iron Dome air defense system focused on similar relatively shorter range threats. Like most laser systems in development, the system aims to…