An unclassified picture of a Cessna aircraft of the type that carries the new laser weapon
The Defense Ministry's Department of Warfare Weaponry together with the Elbit Company reported this past Monday the finalization of a series of experiments carried out recently in the Mediterranean skies as part of a broad project launched by the Ministry. In the course of the experiments, they succeeded in shooting down some ten unmanned aircraft using a sophisticated laser system developed together with the Israel air force.
The laser weapon in its new version is capable of shooting down dozens of aircraft consecutively. For the sake of this experiment, a dozen targets were attached to the backs of Cessna planes for a kilometer at the varying heights ranging from 1,000 to 3,000 feet above sea level, which were shot down by laser beams which burned them, causing them to fall within seconds of their being aimed at by the laser apparatus.
A top official in the Security Ministry said, "This is a solid electric laser which can also down drones and in the future, according to need, will also be able to shoot down incendiary balloons. This strategic capacity is a technological breakthrough developed through current means which have been extant in the world in the area of optic and laser usage.
