Laser defence systems are now battlefield ready to take on Iran's Shahed and other offensive drones with a beam that "fries" incoming targets.
Defence experts see new "game-changer" systems as operationally ready for the threat that Iran has posed across the Arabian Gulf since March. The laser weapons could be located in places being "plastered by drones" and match the threat.
Manufacturers are already producing innovative laser defence systems to hit drones at a fraction of the cost of current million-dollar interceptors.
With the Shahed-136 drones having caused damage across the Middle East over recent months, defences are still being rebuilt. Executives claim there is intense interest in the innovative “heat-to-kill" laser system. Smaller versions of the US Helios system and the UK's Dragonfire naval option are the holy grail of the industry.
The weapon's lasers are fired at the speed of light able to “fry” drones, cruise missiles or artillery shells in seconds, and crucially cost just $1.99 each time.
Some caveats exist around the range of the devices, with the most reliable laser a version that waits for the target to enter a clear line-of-sight before emitting the beam that "burns" it. Clear weather is also an optimal condition for use.
A defence source disclosed to The National that the laser beam has “been operational and proven to have been successful in its performance in the last few months”. It is understood to have been used against Hezbollah's drones, rather than Iran's arsenal.
Coins at 10km
One such weapon is capable of generating 100 kilowatts of power boasting its own telescope and a radar-based fire control system to locate the target. It can be focused on a coin-sized area at a distance of 10km, easily putting the crosshairs of the laser directly on to a Shahed’s nose, for example.
“Then we flick on the laser and use ‘heat to kill’, blowing the bad guy out of the air,” said one operator.
Two lasers are mounted on a single lorry or in an installation and it just needs a generator with diesel fuel to power it up and to cool off the laser.
The system, built by Rafael advanced defence systems, does not need restocking like the Patriot missile batteries that cost about $3.5 million per interceptor with a finite supply.
With two lasers mounted on each unit, it can also take on drone swarms rapidly moving from one target to another.
But the weather, such as sandstorms, can have an impact its efficiency, experts admit.
“This system really is a game changer and is the only laser that has anywhere this performance that's operational,” said Dr Yehoshua Kalisky of the Institute for National Security Studies think tank.
“It can intercept and easily destroy drones and actually, in the war [with Hezbollah] it intercepted several tens of UAVs. So this would be very useful to countries who are under drone attack.”
Key breakthrough
While defence firms have been attempting to develop combat lasers for decades, a key breakthrough came using technology developed by a small but high-end tech company.
The high-precision welding firm Civan Lasers developed the “dynamic beam laser” which, unlike other lasers that release most energy from their beam’s centre, flows them into complex rings before release making them much more powerful.
This enables the laser’s energy patterns to be adjusted in microseconds, allowing “dynamic beam shaping”, a method developed by the company using very high-powered lasers for its welding.
“This allows its engineers to point it at a specific target long enough to send energy to that specific point,” said an industry insider. “That’s what’s been fundamental to Civan’s engineering approach played a very significant role.”
Dr Kalisky highlighted the difficulty on combining all the beams into one beam. “The high-powered laser is a modular system. All the laser beams have to be combined into a single high-power beam. The design and building high power laser system is an expensive operation and requires a lot of talent.”
Flat advantage
Ukraine, which typically records more than 100 drones fired at it by Russia daily, has made significant advances in its defences going from shooting down 55 per cent last year to 94 per cent this year.
It has also perfected the layered defence systems, using helicopters and lorry-mounted machine guns to take out those that get past its line of interceptor drones. Much of that knowledge, alongside other external advisers, has seen the UAE establish a highly effective drone interception rate of more than 95 per cent, shooting down 2,256 Iranian Shaheds.
Lasers, unlike interceptor missiles, operate on line-of-sight on to the target, meaning that outside flat terrain reconnaissance of entry routes the drones usually take is needed. Lasers could then be prepositioned to cut them off. Laser systems are best seen as part of a layered defence, with jets, interceptor missiles and ground weapons to intercept the slow-moving drones.
“The more that countries are plagued by drones, the more interested they are," said the defence insider.
