The Israeli Army has unveiled a laser-based system to defy drones and missiles.
The army's spokesman described this as a breakthrough in the missiles war that will prompt a strategic change in Israel’s air defense capability.
The system is meant to intercept aerial threats ranging from mortar fire, drones, as well as anti-tank missiles. It also improves air defense performance in combat missions.
However the system doesn’t replace the ‘Iron Dome’ and does have its downsides, mainly its field of view which is highly dependent on weather conditions. Yet, it is characterized by its cheap costs compared to these of the Iron Dome that reached around one billion shekel last year (USD1 equals 3.5 shekels)
The system is set to be tested during the second half of the year.
"The new laser project will turn Israel's defense into deadlier and more advanced," said Defense Minister Naftali Bennett.
Head of the Defense Ministry’s weapons development administration Brig. Gen. Yaniv Rotem said that following the breakthrough, the ministry has launched three powerful laser programs, in collaboration with the Israeli Raphael and Elbit Systems security industries.
The decline in food prices, which account for around a third of the inflation basket, “confirms the state’s success in containing inflation” by increasing supplies enough to offset seasonal price spikes, said Allen Sandeep, director of research at Naeem Brokerage in Cairo.
“Certainly, this is good news for policy makers,” he said, adding that the current annual rate is near the bottom end of the central bank’s inflation target range of 9%, plus or minus 3 percentage points, by the end of 2020. The central bank’s Monetary Policy Committee is expected to meet next week. The regulator cut rates four times in 2019.
“At this level, there’s easily room for a 150-basis-points cut,” Sandeep said. “The question is when, not whether, it will happen.”
