A laser cannon cave was unveiled this morning (Thursday) in the presence of Defense Minister Bnei Gantz at the Rafael Company compound, together with the head of research and development at Mapat, Brigadier General Yaniv Rotem, Rafael General (Res.) Yoav Har-Even and CEO of the Brigade Modi’in and LA in Elbit Systems, Oren Sabag, who presented the Minister of Defense with the laser cannon developed at Rafael. Ganz approved the progress of the process according to the work plan and the promotion of the order from Rafael. It is a laser technology that will enable it to deal with a wide range of steep-track threats, including rockets, mortar shells (shrapnel) and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), in a light, effective and significantly cheaper configuration compared to any other means of defense. This defense system will be integrated into the air defense system of the State of Israel and will constitute a complementary capability to the ‘Iron Dome’ system. The system will initially be stationed on the Gaza Strip border, the Defense Minister’s Office said today. Following the working meetings that have taken place in recent months. Subsequently, the Minister approved the progress of the process according to the work plan and the promotion of the order from Rafael.
Director of Research and Development of Weapons and Technological Infrastructure – Mapat in the Ministry of Defense today unveiled for the first time images of a powerful laser transmitter – which is a technological breakthrough that will enable the system to be advanced. Operational system: The system is currently complete and the Director General of the Ministry of Defense, Maj. Gen. (Res.) Amir Eshel, will sign the order from Rafael in the coming days, after which an accelerated process will be developed for the Magen Or system.
The protection system, called the “light shield”, will be integrated into the air defense system and will be significantly more effective and inexpensive than any other means of protection. In the first phase, hundreds of millions of NIS will be allocated from the defense budget for development and experiments in the system. In the next phase, the defense system is expected to allocate an additional hundreds of millions of NIS to complete the process in accordance with progress.
Defense Minister Bnei Gantz said that “Today we are taking a dramatic and important step towards a change in the battlefield, and an upgrade in the security of Israeli residents in the face of growing threats from our borders from Gaza, Lebanon and Syria, under the auspices of Iran and terrorist organizations. For great economic gain for the State of Israel and for cooperation with many friendly countries in the world. “
Defense Minister Bnei Gantz (Photo: Ministry of Defense Spokeswoman)
The head of R&D at Mapat in the Ministry of Defense, Brigadier General Yaniv Rotemar, said that “the maturation of the development and equipping program based on powerful laser technology is the product of many years of investment led by Mapat’s R&D division, together with the defense industries. The decision we made to equip laser weapon systems will lead to a significant leap in the defense capabilities of the State of Israel. “While Raphael’s CEO, Maj. Gen. (Res.) Yoav Har-Even said that The first powerful of its kind in the world. After many years of research and development, we see this strategic plan as a significant milestone in upgrading Israel’s air defense capabilities. We have done this in the last decade with the development of “Iron Dome” and “Magic Wand” systems – systems that combine groundbreaking technologies that make the State of Israel a global spearhead in the field of air defense, and I have no doubt that we will do it again in the field of laser. I thank the Ministry of Defense for the trust and for leading this important move. “