This post is also available in:
עברית (Hebrew)
South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) announced its deployment of the world’s first anti-drone laser weapons – called the “StarWars” project, it is meant to counter North Korean drone incursions into South Korea’s airspace.
Aerospace industrial company “Hanwha Aerospace”, who created this weapon, claims that once active it will cost around $1.45 per shot, a cheap, efficient, silent and deadly weapon against enemy drones. DAPA said in a statement that the country is becoming the first in the world to “deploy and operate laser weapons”, and that their military’s response capabilities on North Korea’s drone provocation “will be further strengthened.”
Back in December, five North Korean drones crossed into South Korea in what was the first intrusion since 2017. This prompted Seoul to try and use fighter jets and attack helicopters to shoot them down. The Korean War ended in 1953 with no peace treaty, yet the US reports that both North and South Korea have violated the truce by sending drones into each other’s airspace.
According to Interesting Engineering, laser weapons can shoot down flying drones by targeting and burning their engines or other electric equipment with beams of light for 10 to 20 seconds. There is currently a major worldwide interest in such weapons for countering the spread of unmanned systems and for targeting missiles in flight or satellites in orbit. Many countries, including the US, UK, Japan, and even Israel are close to deploying their own weapons.
Israel is reportedly in the process of developing its own Iron Beam air defense laser system to combat and defend against the increasing threat posed by terrorist groups like Hezbollah and Hamas that use drones. Back in April 2022, Israel’s Defense Ministry announced that the laser system had successfully shot down drones, rockets, mortars, and anti-tank missiles during its initial round of tests.
Though the anti-missile system was supposed to be deployed by 2024, it still has not been put into service. In December of 2022, Lockheed Martin signed an agreement with Israeli weapons manufacturer Rafael to contribute to the development of Iron Beam, in a collaboration that would focus on developing, testing, and producing a version of the Iron Beam system for the American market and others.
