Iron Beam laser weapon to be ready by end of year, Israel says

Israel says it has completed the development of a powerful laser weapon that will be in use by the end of the year to bolster the country’s air defences.

The 100-kilowatt Iron Beam laser has successfully intercepted drones, rockets, mortars and aircraft in a series of tests, Israel's Defence Ministry said. It will be integrated into the Iron Dome missile defence shield in the coming months, offering another layer of protection.

The Iron Dome has been used to intercept thousands of rockets fired by Hamas militants in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen since the Gaza war broke out two years ago.

But the current missile-based system costs tens of thousands of dollars per hit. The new laser technology has been touted as a cheaper way to repel drones and other projectiles, with each interception costing less than $5. However, the Iron Beam has numerous technical limitations and cannot work in cloudy weather.

“Now that the Iron Beam’s performance has been proven, we anticipate a significant leap in air defence capabilities through the deployment of these long-range laser weapon systems,” the ministry said.

Nations around the world have been pursuing similar systems to replace expensive munitions, but the technology has proven difficult to scale. Israel says it is the first to have such a weapon.

Rockets fired from Lebanon are intercepted by the Iron Dome system. Getty Images

“This is the first time in the world that a high-power laser interception system has reached full operational maturity,” said Defence Ministry director general Amir Baram.

Defence Minister Israel Katz hailed the “rapid, precise interception at marginal cost that joins our existing defence systems and changes the threat equation”.

Since the Gaza war erupted, Israel has been engaged in a multi-front conflict in which tens of thousands of projectiles have been fired at the country.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that if there was one lesson learnt from the Hamas attack on Israel in October 2023, it was that Israel needs to create an “independent weapons industry” that can “withstand international constraints”.

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Teachers' pay - what you need to know

Pay varies significantly depending on the school, its rating and the curriculum. Here's a rough guide as of January 2021:

- top end schools tend to pay Dh16,000-17,000 a month - plus a monthly housing allowance of up to Dh6,000. These tend to be British curriculum schools rated 'outstanding' or 'very good', followed by American schools

- average salary across curriculums and skill levels is about Dh10,000, recruiters say

- it is becoming more common for schools to provide accommodation, sometimes in an apartment block with other teachers, rather than hand teachers a cash housing allowance

- some strong performing schools have cut back on salaries since the pandemic began, sometimes offering Dh16,000 including the housing allowance, which reflects the slump in rental costs, and sheer demand for jobs

- maths and science teachers are most in demand and some schools will pay up to Dh3,000 more than other teachers in recognition of their technical skills

- at the other end of the market, teachers in some Indian schools, where fees are lower and competition among applicants is intense, can be paid as low as Dh3,000 per month

- in Indian schools, it has also become common for teachers to share residential accommodation, living in a block with colleagues

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”