Newsweek

Israel will not have its pioneering Iron Beam high-energy laser weapon system up and running ahead of schedule, despite the looming possibility of full-scale war breaking out across its northern border with Lebanon-based Hezbollah.

Israel’s Defense Ministry and industries are doing all they can to speed up the deployment of the Iron Beam, but the tail end of 2025 is still the earliest the first-of-its-kind air defense system will be fielded, Newsweek understands. This timeline has long been in place.

Gideon Weiss, the head of international marketing and business development for Israel’s state-owned Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, said there had been no changes to the timeline since October, with the Iron Beam still expected to be operational from the end of next year.

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