Israel isn’t the world’s most popular country, except when it comes to military hardware. A country the size of New Jersey is now the world’s eighth-largest arms exporter with a record-breaking $15 billion in sales in 2024.
Behind Britain, but ahead of Turkey and South Korea in foreign arms sales, governments are flocking to Israel to buy battle-tested weapons, especially rockets from its vaunted Iron Dome missile defense system.
Europe accounts for most of the sales — Germany and Finland being the largest, but India, Thailand and Greece are buyers as well. Even Muslim majority countries — Morocco, the UAE and Bahrain — buy missiles, drones and cybersecurity systems from the Jewish state.
The record sales come as Israel unveils its latest weapon. The Iron Beam is a laser capable of knocking out incoming missiles, mortar rounds and drones up to 6 miles away for as little as $2 per interception. By contrast, interceptor missiles typically cost anywhere from $100,000 to $1 million apiece.
“With the laser, the only cost is electricity,” says Yuval Steinitz, chairman of Rafael Defense Industries, manufacturer of the Iron Beam. “It is like between $1 and $2, less than the price of a hot dog in New York.”
Unlike conventional missile interceptors, fast as they are, take time. A laser travels at the speed of light.
“We have already used it against UAVs launched by Hezbollah in the north and missiles from Iran. It works,” says University of Tel Aviv professor Isaac Ben-David. “The most important advantage is, once you see the target, it is intercepted at the speed of light. It takes a fraction of a second, and the laser is already destroying it.”
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After decades of failed tests by multiple nations, Israel is the first country to successfully use the weapon in war. One of those who oversaw development was professor Isaac Ben-David, former head of research and development at Israel’s Ministry of Defense.
Israel will deploy the first Iron Beam systems in the north, where Hezbollah rockets fired in southern Lebanon take under a minute to cross the Israeli border. Applications will expand to include ships and specific air bases.
“This is just the beginning of a new era,” Steinitz said. “In time, maybe five years, it will enable us to shoot down every hostile object in the air around Israel. It’s really a game changer.”
Rafael developed the technology with U.S.-based Lockheed Martin and $1.2 billion from the Pentagon. Steinitz says the technology is already being shared with the U.S. Army’s directed energy program.
“We cannot do without the United States,” he said. “But sometimes, in a partnership, even the dwarf can contribute to the giant.”
Israel unveils Iron Beam laser weapon while achieving record $15B arms sales 2025 IUSTITIA.BG – Investigations 2009-2025 2025-12-11 19:32:44 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law
