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As Iran continues to fireside rockets and missiles at surrounding countries within the Middle East, Israel has used a brand latest weapon to defend its airspace.
Israel’s ‘Iron Beam’ system allows the country to shoot down projectiles with laser technology.
Footage released yesterday showed missiles raining down after Hezbollah, an Iranian proxy, launched strikes into Israel.
Suddenly, the projectiles exploded mid-air, after a beam of sunshine shot up into the night sky.
It’s the most recent technology to be added to the country’s Iron Dome missile defence system, which has proved to be vital in protecting civilians because it was implemented.
The country has 2 operational Iron Beam systems, that are capable of intercept rockets, mortars and drones.
Defence officials previously explained how the system is supplied with a beam director and targeting system, allowing it to fireside with precision.
The system was first introduced in 2014, but only declared operational in September 2025, when it was delivered to the military.
The Iron Dome works in an analogous method to the Iron Beam, but through the use of missile launchers.
They work by first identifying an incoming rocket inside a 2.5 to 43-mile radius. The battery then sends information concerning the rocket and its path to a command-and-control centre.
Once they receive this information, the control centre calculates the situation of the rocket’s impact and whether it will strike areas inhabited by people.
When coping with multiple threats, the Iron Dome uses data to deduce the rockets that pose the best threat to populated areas and infrastructure, deprioritising those which can be more likely to hit the ocean or areas not populated.
Few reliable estimates for Iran’s stockpile of ballistic missiles exist, however it is widely considered to be considered one of the most important and most advanced within the region.
A few of the high-speed missiles can reach Israeli territory in only quarter-hour.
Israel and Iran are about 1,400 miles apart, so only medium-range ballistic missiles – those able to travelling over 620 miles – can strike the opposite.
Unlike cruise missiles, that are jet engine-powered and fly in a comparatively flat trajectory, ballistic missiles are rocket-powered and launched high into the atmosphere before descending back all the way down to reach its intended goal.
They’ll carry either nuclear or conventional warheads.
Because the detached warhead(s) reenter the Earth’s atmosphere, it could possibly reach a speed greater than 1,988 miles per hour.
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