Arma 3 video game clip falsely shared as Israel's Iron Beam in action

By: Rahul Adhikari
October 17 2023

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Social media posts claiming that the video shows the Israeli Iron Beam system in action. (Source: X/Modified by Logically Facts)

Hamas, the Palestinian militant organization which has ruled the Gaza Strip since 2007,  launched a surpise and wide-ranging missile attack on Israel on October 7. The attack escalated into a war after Israel vowed "mighty vengeance." According to the latest reports, 2,750 people were killed in Gaza, and more than 1,400 people died in Israel.

What is the claim?
A video has been circulating on social media, claiming to show Israel's Iron Beam in action. The viral video shows a tower and several missiles being destroyed in the sky before reaching the ground. The posts claim that Israel's new Iron Beam is intercepting and destroying the missiles in the sky. 

Several users have shared the video on X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook with the caption, "The New Iron Beam in full display." One such post on X has garnered 4.4 million views, over 15,000 likes, and 5,583 reposts. An archived version of the viral post can be found here. Several other posts can be seen archived here and here.

Screenshot of the viral posts. (Source: X/Facebook/Modified by Logically Facts)

However, a clip from the popular military simulation video game Arma 3 is being shared as Israel's Iron Beam defence system intercepting missiles.

What did we find?
Several users in the comment section pointed out that the footage has been taken from the Arma 3 video game. Taking a cue from this, we found an Arma 3 game simulation video on YouTube published on October 11 by the account Compared Comparison, several days before the video went viral on social media platforms.
The video is titled "Iron Dome in Action! Overwhelmed - Massive Rocket Barrage - Military Simulation - ArmA 3." Notably, the video says that it shows the Iron Dome, not the Israeli defense system Iron Beam.

We reviewed the YouTube video and noted that the viral video has been taken from the 3:51-minute to 4:51-minute timeframe of the 8-minute-long YouTube video. We compared the videos to confirm that they are the same visuals.

Comparison between the viral video and the YouTube video. (Source: X/YouTube/Modified by Logically Facts)

The bio of the verified YouTube account ‘Compared Comparison’ reads: "Creating modern cinematic military films using ArmA 3 and DCS as the engine to create the stories and simulations." The channel regularly publishes footage from the Arma 3 game.

We noted that the X account that shared this claim calls itself 'Israel Mossad.' However, it is not affiliated with the national intelligence agency of Israel, which goes by handle @mossad_career. It has also since issued a correction on its X account, saying, “According to the IDF, the iron beam is not operational yet.”

Amid the rampant misinformation on social media platforms linked to the Israel-Hamas war, multiple videos from the game Arma 3 have been shared as depicting actual footage of the conflict. You can read Logically Facts’ fact-check here. Earlier too, amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, several videos from Arma 3 had gone viral, prompting game developer Bohemia Interactive to issue a statement. 

What is the Iron Beam?

Iron Beam, also known as Magen or "Light Shield," is an Israeli air defense system built by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems that can fire light beams to destroy fast-moving projectiles. Former Prime Minister of Israel Naftali Bennett in April 2022 explained that it is an energy-based weapons system that uses a laser to shoot down incoming UAVs, rockets & mortars, which costs about $3.50 per shot. While originally planned to be deployed in 2025, according to reports, Israeli defense forces may deploy the Iron Beam laser system ahead of schedule amid the war with Hamas. No reports indicate that the Iron Beam system has been deployed as yet.

The verdict
A clip from the Arma-3 video game is being shared and falsely linked to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. Therefore, we have marked this claim as false.