--- title: "Watch Israel’s Military Shoot Down Drones With a Laser" description: "The Israeli military just tested a plane equipped with a new laser weapon that's capable of burning through drones in midair." date: "2021-06-21" modified: "2021-06-21" authors: - name: "Dan Robitzski" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/danrobitzski" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/watch-israels-military-shoot-drones-laser" categories: - "Drones" - "Military" - "Robotics" - "Robots and Machines" - "Science & Energy" tags: - "drones" - "Israel" - "laser" - "military technology" - "the digest" --- # Watch Israel’s Military Shoot Down Drones With a Laser ![The Israeli military just tested a plane equipped with a new laser weapon that's capable of burning through drones in midair.]() *\Image: \Israel Ministry of Defense via Twitter \\* ## Skeet Shooting The Israeli military just demonstrated a powerful new laser capable of shooting down drones in midair — a first for the country — and even released video of the system in action. The High-Power Laser Weapon System was equipped to a plane that could target drones while both traveled through the air, [according to *Insider*](). In [video footage]() shared on Twitter by Israel's Ministry of Defense, the laser can be seen [burning holes through the drones](), causing them to crash and burn. https://twitter.com/ElbitSystemsLtd/status/1406989141959655436 ## Curve The Bullet Israeli Brigadier-General and head of military research Yaniv Rotem [told *The Jerusalem Post*]() that the laser is expected to work in any weather conditions, though there's no word on how that would affect the actual targeting process for the pilots in the laser-equipped plane. For now, the beam can shoot done a drone from one kilometer away, but Rotem hopes to increase its range 20-fold in the coming years. Meanwhile, the Israeli Ministry of Defense says that it sees this sort of laser weapon as a way to drive down costs in its ongoing militarized push against Palestine. The nation already uses missiles to intercept any incoming projectiles. But as low-cost drones become more commonplace, firing a laser rather than launching an entire missile makes more sense, economically. **READ MORE:** [Watch this plane shoot down drones with a high-powered laser in a first-of-its-kind Israeli military test]() \[*Insider*\] **More on lasers:** *[Watch the US Military Kill an Aircraft With an Energy Weapon]()* ## Author Dan Robitzki is a senior reporter for Futurism, where he likes to cover AI, tech ethics, and medicine. He spends his extra time fencing and streaming games from Los Angeles, California. ### Author social links [Twitter]()