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Home Posts The End of the Rockets? The Future of the Laser “Top Gun”

The End of the Rockets? The Future of the Laser “Top Gun”
Yehoshua Kalisky
15 May, 2023
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In the recent conflict between Israel and Islamic Jihad, the question occasionally arose among the public: "Where is the laser weapon they promised us?"

Embedded in the question is a longing for a miraculous weapon that will remove once and for all the threat of missiles and rockets aimed at us from all sides. To clarify this point and match expectations to reality, one must understand the advantages and disadvantages of a weapon based on a laser beam, or by its other name, the laser "top gun." In order to dispel all doubts, let’s be clear: the laser weapon will exist on the future battlefield.

The outstanding advantage of the laser “top gun” is its ability to reach any target accurately and at the speed of light. The time required to reach a target that is 10 km away, for example, is a millionth of a second. At work is a durable, renewable system that can be operated repeatedly while carrying out a sequence of interceptions at a very low cost compared to the interceptors that exist today. Its operation requires minimal logistics that do not involve the use of hazardous materials. This system also boasts great accuracy and flexibility in operational activation, based on conditions, against a variety of targets while controlling the output produced by the laser “top gun.”

Against these advantages, the laser weapon has a number of inherent disadvantages: the laser beam, like any light beam, moves in a straight line only, and therefore the interception depends on the existence of a line of sight between the beam and the target. The system has limitations of weather and atmospheric conditions such as clouds, haze, water, vapor, and air turbulence. In addition, the system has thermal limitations resulting from the need to remove the large amount of heat generated due to the operation of the laser, and this may limit the energy produced from the laser “top gun.”

The public should understand that the laser system will be an integral part of Israel's multi-layered defense system, whose various components function together as a whole with impressive efficiency, as they have in past and most recent conflicts.

Topics: Advanced Technologies and National Security, Operation Shield and Arrow
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  • Research

    • Topics
      • Israel and the Global Powers
      • Israel-United States Relations
      • Glazer Israel-China Policy Center
      • Russia
      • Europe
      • Iran and the Shi'ite Axis
      • Iran
      • Lebanon and Hezbollah
      • Syria
      • Yemen and the Houthi Movement
      • Iraq and the Iraqi Shiite Militias
      • Conflict to Agreements
      • Israeli-Palestinian Relations
      • Hamas and the Gaza Strip
      • Peace Agreements and Normalization in the Middle East
      • Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States
      • Turkey
      • Egypt
      • Jordan
      • Israel’s National Security Policy
      • Military and Strategic Affairs
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      • Jewish-Arab Relations in Israel
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