The Israeli Defense Ministry conducted a joint drill on Monday with its Iron Beam laser defense system and the Iron Dome interceptor-based defense system. The June 29, 2026, exercise focused on coordinating the two systems to counter a multi-threat aerial scenario.

Drones were identified as the primary target during the joint drill. The Defense Ministry stated that the systems possess the ability to shoot down rockets and cruise missiles. Moshe Patel, the head of the Israeli Missile Defense Organization (IMDO) Directorate of Defense Research and Development (DDR&D), emphasized the importance of coordinating the defensive capabilities of Iron Beam and Iron Dome to maximize their joint capabilities.

Security officials indicated that Iron Beam can engage barrages of simultaneous aerial threats rather than being limited to one or two targets. Rafael uses a laser produced by Elbit for its Iron Beam system. Elbit officials stated that the initial focus of Iron Beam is shooting down regular drones, though shooting down ballistic missiles may be possible in the future.

Patel stated that Iron Dome can shoot down missiles. Rafael CEO Yoav Tourgeman emphasized the importance of successfully using the Iron Beam and Iron Dome systems together. Tourgeman also emphasized the longstanding record of Iron Dome against short-range threats.

In mid-2025, the Defense Ministry disclosed that Iron Beam had shot down approximately 40 Hezbollah drones in the fall of 2024. By December 2025, the Defense Ministry and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) declared Iron Beam fully operational. However, numerous top IDF officials stated that Iron Beam was not used during the early 2026 war with Iran because an insufficient number of batteries had been produced for it to be widely effective.

The main threat Iran posed to Israel in early 2026 was ballistic missiles. Patel alluded to dealing with new scenarios that arose during the recent Iran war. One of the new problems involves cluster munitions dropping out of Iranian ballistic missiles, a threat for which Israel was unprepared in early 2026. Prior instances show Iron Dome has shot down ballistic missiles, though the Arrow 3 defense system is mainly responsible for the ballistic missile threat. Each Arrow interceptor costs $2-3 million.