Consequently, once fielded, this capability could help address the cost disparity, for example, between relatively inexpensive adversary rockets and much more expensive traditional kinetic interceptors.

Additionally, this laser technology could provide Israel a virtually inexhaustible interceptor stock, for certain missions, as long as military forces maintain access to electricity.

This laser technology, for example, will not provide interception at the speed of light. While the laser beam would indeed reach the target at the speed of light, traveling much faster to the target than a traditional kinetic interceptor, it would need to remain on the target for several seconds before destroying it. The amount of time required would depend on variables such as distance, beam power, atmospheric conditions, the nature of the target and the laser’s exact spot on the target.

Iron Dome, for example, can launch a number of interceptors simultaneously, sending each one to a different target. A single laser could focus on only one target at a time.

One could of course employ multiple beams, but the equipment required to generate multiple beams could quickly become cost-prohibitive. Consequently, this laser technology, at least for now, is ill-suited for countering adversary salvos consisting of large quantities of aerial threats.