Israel’s Rafael, Lockheed Martin Ink Laser Air Defense Deal

State-owned Israeli defense company Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and the US weapons giant Lockheed Martin announced on Monday that they had signed an agreement to jointly develop a high-energy laser weapon system. The agreement covers the development, testing, and manufacturing of the system in the US and Israel. The weapon will be based on Iron Beam, a laser air defense system developed by Rafael and the Israeli Defense Ministry. Iron Beam is intended to become an operational ground-based air defense system that will target enemy rockets, mortars, drones, and other threats using 100-kW lasers.