Lockheed Martin, Israel’s defense firm to develop laser weapon system

Jerusalem, Israel | Xinhua | Israel’s state-owned defense company Rafael and U.S. weapon manufacturer Lockheed Martin have signed an agreement to jointly develop a high-energy laser weapon system.

The agreement includes the developing, testing, and manufacturing of the system in the United States and Israel, the companies said on Monday in a joint statement.

The future system will be based on the Iron Beam laser defense system, which was already developed by Rafael and Israel’s Defense Ministry, the statement added.

With a high power of 100 kW, the Iron Beam aims to become an operational ground-based air defense system against rockets, mortars, drones, and other threats by directly hitting the targets with high-energy lasers. ■