Last April, teams from the industrialist Rafael and the Israeli army carried out a first "life-size" test of the Iron Beam anti-aircraft system, a defense device based on a high-energy laser with a power of more than 100 Kw . During these trials, Iron Beam demonstrated its ability to intercept and destroy not only light drones, but also artillery rockets and mortar shells with precision, efficiency and velocity. These successes have apparently finished convincing the Israeli armed forces, which now plan to acquire this system in the surprisingly near future, between two and three years, so…
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Israel to deploy aerostat radar surveillance system soon
If ground surveillance radars are effective against aircraft and missiles operating at medium and high altitude, the situation is quite different against aircraft and cruise missiles which move close to the ground, so as to take full advantage of the masking ground or even the roundness of the ground, to reduce the opponent's reaction time and therefore his ability to intercept. To deal with these threats, it is essential to place a radar at altitude, capable of observing the terrain without suffering its effects. Several systems, such as the Hawkeye and Sentry, the famous Awacs of…
Read the articleUS Army prefers Dynetics to Israel's Iron Dome for close air defense
After the demonstrations of strength and efficiency made by the Iron Dome systems to protect Israeli cities from Hamas rockets in recent months, one could reasonably think that the joint offer of Rafael and Raytheon would be preferred by the US Army against to that of the American Dynetics to provide close anti-aircraft protection of US Army sites as part of the Indirect Fire Protection Capacity program, or IFPC. However, it is the latter's Enduring Shield, using the expensive AIM-9X Sidewinder missile at $0,5 million per unit, which was chosen to the detriment of the Iron Dome and its Tamir missile at $190.000. $,…
Read the articleSouth Korea will invest $ 2,5 billion to develop its own "Iron Dome"
Located only 35 km from the North Korean border, the protection of Seoul, the capital of South Korea, and its 10 million inhabitants, has always been a headache and a major challenge for southern military planners. -Koreans, and all the more so since it is now within direct range of modern artillery systems such as the new North Korean M-152 2018 mm gun whose estimated range would reach 40 km. Until now, the country had relied on a Patriot anti-missile shield and its powerful air force to neutralize this threat, but recent technological developments are now forcing planners to implement…
Read the articleThe US Army will test the Iron Dome to protect its vulnerable infrastructure
One of the major lessons of the war that pitted Azeri forces against Armenian forces in Nagorno-Karabakh in 2020 was the great vulnerability of force support sites, such as logistics areas, command posts, and fortifications, in the face of modern artillery systems coupled with reconnaissance drones. And if the Armenian anti-aircraft defenses managed to keep the Azeri fighters at a distance, they were largely idle in the face of the small reconnaissance drones directing the enemy artillery fire. Beyond this example, the increase in range and accuracy of modern and future artillery systems, whether artillery…
Read the articleThe firepower of Israel's new Saar 6 corvette is second to none
The Israeli Navy has never been a priority for the Jewish State General Staff. Today, its offshore fleet is limited to 3 corvettes of 1000 tons Sa'ar 5 acquired from the United States more than 26 years ago, and above all 6 Dolphin and Dolphin 2 submarines, enlarged versions of the Type 209 of the German HDW, acquired in two batches, one in 1999 (3 Dolphin) and the other between 2012 and 2019 (3 Dolphin 2). Tel-Aviv indeed trusted its air force, its coastal batteries, and its fleet of missile patrol boats to protect access to its ports, which were otherwise far from being potentially threatened by…
Read the articleAircraft carriers, anti-missile systems, combat aircraft: Seoul reveals its ambitions for the coming decade
Unlike the Europeans, South Korea has never neglected its defense investments, including during the period following the collapse of the Soviet bloc and which was characterized by a rapprochement between the West and China. It must be said that with a neighbor like North Korea accused of developing a military nuclear program as early as 1989, Seoul, also within range of North Korean artillery, has never really known a period of calm, to take advantage “Benefits of Peace” dear to European leaders in the 90s and 2000s. And in fact, South Korea today has an armed force of…
Read the articlePentagon doesn't want additional Israeli Iron Dome systems
According to the Israeli press, the Pentagon has given up the acquisition of additional Iron Dome systems to strengthen its close protection capabilities, due to the incompatibility of the Israeli system with the anti-aircraft defense network used by the US Army. According to General Mike Murray, commander of the Future Command of the US Army, the analyzes would have shown several problems, in particular in terms of cybersecurity, and especially in terms of interoperability with the other defense systems used, and in particular those articulating the systems Patriot. This announcement does not call into question the acquisition of the first two batteries announced in 2019, which are still awaited today by the US Army as a solution...
Read the articleThe less revolutionary Israeli drone dome laser device than it seems
At the beginning of January, the Israeli military authorities had published on social networks a video showing an anti-aircraft and anti-missile protection device based on laser energy which foreshadowed a remarkable technological leap. But the video published yesterday by Rafael concerning his system called "Drone Dome", suggests much less spectacular performance, and a more limited tactical use. So, has the mountain given birth to a mouse? The video presented yesterday by Rafael, one of the major Israeli defense companies, shows a device for detecting, tracking and engaging light drones on board an armored vehicle, and using a laser beam to destroy its targets.…
Read the articleIsrael will have a new airborne laser anti-missile system from 2021!
The Israeli defense industry had until then communicated little about directed energy weapons, such as lasers. But it seems that it is about to cap all the players in this field. Indeed, the country's Ministry of Defense announced that it was developing an airborne and land-based laser system, which would be able, from mid-2021, to protect the country's borders from missile and rocket fire from Gaza, from Lebanon or Syria, but also to protect aircraft and armored vehicles operating on its territory and near missile fire targeting them. The…
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