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Israel tests airborne laser to shoot down drones

2021-06-26T21:40:54.799Z


Israel said Monday (June 21) that it had used an airborne laser to shoot down drones in a series of tests, a "technological advance" that ...


Israel said Monday (June 21) that it had used an airborne laser to shoot down drones in a series of tests, a "

technological advance

" that should strengthen its defense system.

Read also: Rain of rockets, iron dome ... Eleven days of Israeli-Palestinian conflict

This new laser system, installed on board a small civilian aircraft and tested "

this last week

", can target any flying object, including "

drones, shells, rockets, ballistic missiles

", he said. said Yaniv Rotem, Director of Research and Development at the Israeli Ministry of Defense.

The airborne laser has managed to shoot down several drones, at an altitude of 900 meters and within a radius of one kilometer, but once perfected, it could intercept targets within a radius of 20 km, Yaniv Rotem said during a survey. videoconferencing.

A 100-kilowatt laser beam to bring down the threat

This technology, developed by the Defense Ministry and the Israeli company Elbit Systems, uses the army's aerial detection techniques and then fires a 100 kilowatt laser beam towards the target, Yaniv Rotem told reporters. .

An operational prototype could be developed within "

three to four years

", according to him.

This information could not be immediately verified.

Benny Gantz, Israeli Defense Minister, hailed Monday June 21 "

a technological breakthrough

".

"

The laser system (will) confront a variety of threats, securing the State of Israel while saving the costs of interception,

" he said in a statement.

Read also: The Jewish "Taliban" worry and divide Israel

In its last deadly confrontation with Hamas in May, the Israeli government indicated that its "

Iron Dome

" air defense system

had intercepted 90% of the 4,300 rockets fired from the Palestinian enclave of Gaza by the Islamist movement.

Each "

Iron Dome

" missile

, fired to knock down rockets from Gaza, costs tens of thousands of dollars.

Source: lefigaro

All news articles on 2021-06-26

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