The Reality of the Laser

Are Lasers Here? Did Israel use it's Iron Beam to fend off hundreds of incoming targets with a success rate that is unparalleled?

I was watching a video of the Iranian attack on Israel and it reminded me of the old school arcade game missle command.

I assumed I was watching rockets destroy incoming objects but in missle command you destroy incoming rockets with ground based lasers.

Then I thought. Wait, is Israel shooting these things down with lasers !?

Im no expert, but I would expect to see two trails leading to an explosion but I was only seeing one, and the objects would glow for a few seconds and then fall apart in fiery pieces.

On the first point, I would expect to see two objects coming together before exploding if rockets were used. ... something like this.








But the video I saw you could only see single objects seemingly begin to glow or catch fire then a second later explode or fall apart. Not what I would expect but in my mind fits with what we would see if lasers were used

Here is the video I was watching. About the third clip in you really start to see what I'm talking about.



Kind of interesting, but check this out...

Here's a 5 min video from about a year ago. Hmmm. Look where we are now.



Things seem to be going the way the powers would have them. Did the US and Israel test their new lasers? Is this why there are reports that Joe told the Iranians to carry on? Is this why the powers in control seemed to know in advance exactly what would happen? Was it a test of Iron Beam?

a reply to: 5thHead

But the video I saw you could only see single objects seemingly begin to glow or catch fire then a second later explode or fall apart. Not what I would expect but in my mind fits with what we would see if lasers were used.

That's what I saw too, and I was wondering the same thing.

Well we will know for sure when the inevitable video emerges of a Palestinian throwing rocks only to be vaporized by the Yahweh laser canon surfaces.


a reply to: 5thHead

a reply to: Athetos

Well, I think these are currently more of a surface to air kind of thing, but yeah, can you imagine being cooked with one of those things? Horrible way to go.

They were intercepted by Arrow 2 and Arrow 3, as well as aircraft. That video isn't showing the launch of the interceptors, but the aftermath as the incoming missiles are breaking up and hitting the ground.

You can see the interceptors maneuvering to hit the incoming missiles in this video:

a reply to: Zaphod58


Yes. I'm not suggesting lasers were the only thing used. Are you saying you don't think Lasers were used at all? It seems like this stuff is ready for prime time. I can't imagine they didn't use them the more I think about it.



while the Iron Beam is typically reported as a Israeli project the US is helping to develope and fund it. Basically we are working together.

The video I posted in the OP (the second one) shows how working with the US has drastically increased the range.

a reply to: 5thHead

Boeing YAL-1A was operational in 2007... You can only imagine where they are now...

They probably moved the whole idea to a better platform when they scratched this program...

I had a gig that night, but was watching a live feed...the Agenda Free one.

At one point in time, you could see the glow and the break apart , as you said.

If you watch, you can see a beam hitting them. It was refraction due to dust or smoke. Exactly like a laser show at a rock show.

If I can find the video, I will post it. However, I have been at work since 7am...and it is a 2 hour commute. Gig kicks off in 7 minutes, so I don't have time right now.

a reply to: 5thHead

Lasers have come a long way, yes, but they’re not ready for a massive engagement like this yet. Iron Beam is still testing, and isn’t designed for MRBM interception yet. It’s going to supplement Iron Dome against short range systems and UAVs.

a reply to: Terpene

The YAL-1A was also next to useless. It was never operational, and had to be cut up because it was so contaminated after they ended the program. It was short ranged, limited in number of shots, used about the nastiest fuel you could imagine for the laser, required a large, incredibly vulnerable platform to carry….

a reply to: theatreboy

That would be impressive considering it’s designed for mortars, rockets, and UAVs. It wouldn’t be the first time it was mistaken as being in use however.

originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: 5thHead

Lasers have come a long way, yes, but they’re not ready for a massive engagement like this yet. Iron Beam is still testing,

Yes. Testing on drones and missiles launched from Iran.

In the 5 min video in the OP it says working with America they have more than doubled their range.
And that video is over a year old.

What makes you think it's not operational?

originally posted by: Zaphod58

That would be impressive considering it’s designed for mortars, rockets, and UAVs.

Uhhhhmmm.... What do you think Iran used in it's attack? All the reports I'm seeing say they used rockets and drones (UAVs).

a reply to: Zaphod58

I heard that the power source was way to big for what they got from it, i didn't know about the fuel issue...
but it worked, with the downsides you pointed out. Did they ditch the idea entirely?

Seems like a successful proof of concept, with lots to improve on...

originally posted by: Terpene
a reply to: 5thHead

Boeing YAL-1A was operational in 2007... You can only imagine where they are now...

They probably moved the whole idea to a better platform when they scratched this program...

I'm thinking they moved it to Israel. When you search for US military laser you don't really get much of anything. As if we don't even have a current project but if you watch the second video in the OP you see Biden talking about how the United States funds Israel's Iron Beam.

I think a lot of military stuff has moved to the private sector. This helps them get around foia requests and such by claiming it's company info and not government info. In this case I would guess we let Israel fill the role of a private company. In other words Israel's Iron Beam project is the American laser project.

ETA - also I agree. 2007 was a long time ago. They've had a long time to solve these problems.

UK has Dragonfire, which has been successfully tested. Cheap to fire apparently and effective.

a reply to: 5thHead

What makes you think it is? Just because a video is a year old doesn’t mean it’s ready. Even if it is, it wouldn’t have been used here. None of the systems that it would be used against made it to Israeli airspace.

a reply to: 5thHead

That never even got close to Israeli airspace. The only things that got there were the MRBMs that it would be useless against. Of the UAVs, two US F-15 squadrons shot down at least 70. Then you had French, UK, and Jordanian fighters. A Patriot got at least one cruise missile. Israeli F-35s were quarterbacking anti cruise missile patrols and fighters knocked down a bunch, along with ground based systems.

a reply to: Terpene

The COIL system will never be used again. The only way they could hit a missile in the boost phase, which was the only phase it would work in, was to park a 747 over an enemy missile field and wait for them to launch.

a reply to: 5thHead

We have several lasers in development. The problem for everyone is that the only way to have a decent laser is a fiber system. So far we’re only able to get about 150 kw, compared to a couple megawatts with COIL. The drawbacks for that are far worse though. That system was totally scrapped, and destroyed. No one wants that hot mess anywhere around.