Elbit Systems presented a new laser interception system at the Eurosatory defense exhibition, designed to be mounted on helicopters and used against drones and other airborne threats.

The system was developed in cooperation with Israel’s Defense Ministry and combines artificial intelligence, advanced miniaturization and airborne targeting technology. The goal is to give helicopters the ability to detect, track and destroy threats from the air at a much lower cost than traditional missile-based interception.

This is an important development because the modern battlefield is being flooded with cheap drones, loitering munitions and other aerial threats. Terror armies and hostile regimes can launch large numbers of relatively inexpensive systems, forcing defenders to spend far more on interception than the attacker spent on the threat itself.