Israel Successfully Tests New Laser Defense System

File photo: Defense Minister Benny Gantz. REUTERS/Nir Elias
File photo: Defense Minister Benny Gantz. REUTERS/Nir Elias
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Israel Successfully Tests New Laser Defense System

File photo: Defense Minister Benny Gantz. REUTERS/Nir Elias
File photo: Defense Minister Benny Gantz. REUTERS/Nir Elias

A high-powered laser defense system has for the first time passed a test to intercept drones, missiles and other aerial threats, Israel's Defense Ministry said on Thursday.

Israel has accelerated the roll-out of the laser-based interceptor as part of a plan to adopt such technology and reduce the high costs currently incurred by shooting down incoming projectiles.

The Israeli-made laser system, designed to complement a series of aerial defense systems such as the costly Iron Dome deployed by Israel, will be operational “as soon as possible,” Defense Minister Benny Gantz said.

The goal is to deploy the laser systems around Israel's borders over the next decade, Gantz added. The tests took place last month in the Negev Desert.

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said in February that Israel would begin using the system within a year, sending a message to archenemy Iran.

Gantz said the laser system would be part of "an efficient, inexpensive, and innovative protection umbrella.”

"The laser is a game-changer thanks to its easily operated system and significant economic advantages," said Brigadier General Yaniv Rotem from the Defense Ministry's Directorate of Defense Research and Development.

"Our plan is to station multiple laser transmitters along Israel’s borders throughout the next decade," he added.

The laser system was able to intercept drones, mortars, rockets and anti-tank missiles in multiple scenarios, the Defense Ministry said. The interceptors would use lasers to super-heat incoming drones or the kinds of rockets favored by Iran-backed militants, officials have said.

The announcement came near the anniversary of the 11-day Israel-Gaza war, in which Hamas fired more than 4,000 rockets toward Israel.



Taiwan Deploys Advanced US HIMARS Rockets in Annual Drills

FILE PHOTO: The Taiwanese military conducts its first High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) live-fire test launch at the Jiupeng base in Pingtung, Taiwan May 12, 2025. REUTERS/Ann Wang/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: The Taiwanese military conducts its first High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) live-fire test launch at the Jiupeng base in Pingtung, Taiwan May 12, 2025. REUTERS/Ann Wang/File Photo
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Taiwan Deploys Advanced US HIMARS Rockets in Annual Drills

FILE PHOTO: The Taiwanese military conducts its first High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) live-fire test launch at the Jiupeng base in Pingtung, Taiwan May 12, 2025. REUTERS/Ann Wang/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: The Taiwanese military conducts its first High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) live-fire test launch at the Jiupeng base in Pingtung, Taiwan May 12, 2025. REUTERS/Ann Wang/File Photo

Taiwan's military began deploying one of its newest and most precise strike weapons on Saturday, ahead of live-fire drills meant to showcase the island's determination to resist any Chinese invasion.

Two armored trucks with HIMARS - High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems - were seen maneuvering around the city of Taichung near Taiwan's central coast on the fourth of 10 days of its most comprehensive annual exercises yet, Reuters reported.

The live-fire portion of the Han Kuang drills is expected next week.

In wartime, said Colonel Chen Lian-jia, a military spokesperson, it would be vital to conceal HIMARS from enemy aerial reconnaissance, satellites "or even enemy operatives behind our lines" until the order to fire was given.

China views democratically governed Taiwan as its own and has intensified military pressure around the island over the last five years, staging a string of intense war games and daily naval and air force patrols around the territory.

Taiwan rejects China's sovereignty claims, with President Lai Ching-te saying only Taiwan's people can decide their future.

China's defense ministry said this week the Han Kuang drills were "nothing but a bluff" while its foreign ministry said its opposition to US-Taiwan military ties was "consistent and very firm".

Regional military attaches say the HIMARS deployment in a warlike exercise will be closely watched, given that they have been used extensively by Ukraine against Russian forces. Australia has also purchased the Lockheed Martin (LMT.N) systems. Taiwan took delivery last year of the first 11 of 29 HIMARS units, testing them for the first time in May. With a range of about 300 km (190 miles), the weapons could strike coastal targets in China's southern province of Fujian on the other side of the Taiwan Strait.

Taiwanese military analysts say the weapon would be used with its locally developed Thunderbolt 2000 launchers so Chinese forces could be targeted as they left port or attempted to land on Taiwan's coast. A Thunderbolt unit was also seen in a park near the HIMARS units.

Senior Taiwanese military officials say the Han Kuang drills are unscripted and designed to replicate full combat conditions, starting with simulated enemy attacks on communications and command systems, leading to a full-blown invasion scenario.

The drills aim to show China and the international community, including Taiwan's key weapons supplier the US, that Taiwan is determined to defend itself against any Chinese attack or invasion, the officials say.