The announcement means Iron Beam batteries will now be produced and installed at locations around the country on a large scale, The Jerusalem Post reports.
Since the summer, Israel has used the lighter, laser-based air-defense system Lite Beam against drones. Unlike Lite Beam, Iron Beam will also be able to shoot down robots, rockets and grenades, the newspaper writes.
The Ministry of Defense and the military expect that Iron Beam will lead to significantly lower costs than Israel's current air-defense system, which can cost the equivalent of several million kronor per fired air-defense missile.
The issue of cost-effective countermeasures against drones and missiles has become one of the most important defense policy issues in recent years as a result of the wars in the Middle East and Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine.
