Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz said Israel is developing laser weapons for attacks from space. Speaking at a briefing with military reporters, Katz framed the effort as a way to gain an advantage in deterrence and to enable Israel to “attack” and “destroy” threats posed by enemies with greater resources.

Katz said that, “as of today,” no country has the ability to mount attacks in space, and Israel should lead with this capability. His comments were described as the first time he specifically mentioned “space lasers,” after earlier statements that Israel was investing in capabilities to attack from space.

The reporting also noted Israel already operates or has developed laser-related defense technology on Earth—citing Iron Beam—and mentioned related work in which fighter jets could potentially use lasers in the future. The article said the details of the space-laser concept remain unclear, including how it would work and what it would be used to target.