The THAAD defense system is one of the US military’s most powerful anti-missile weapons, capable of intercepting ballistic missiles at ranges of 150 to 200 kilometers (93 to 124 miles) and with a near-perfect success rate in testing.
Using a combination of advanced radar systems and interceptors, THAAD, short for Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense, is the only US missile defense system that can engage and destroy short-, medium-, and intermediate-range ballistic missiles both inside or outside the atmosphere during their terminal phase of flight – or dive on their target.
According to a report by the Congressional Research Service, the US military has seven THAAD batteries, each consisting of six truck-mounted launchers – with eight interceptors apiece – a powerful radar system and a fire control and communications component.
The US Army will dispatch about 100 troops to Israel to operate the battery, according to the Pentagon. Iran has informed the US it would retaliate against any new attack by Israel, a source in Tehran told CNN on Saturday.
Those other missile defense systems are more numerous than THAAD, an illustration of the importance the Biden administration is placing on this deployment to Israel. THAAD can be quickly deployed by US Air Force cargo aircraft like the C-17 and C-5, but the Pentagon did not give a timetable for when it will be active in Israel.
The radar system, which can deployed with the missile battery or already be in place on US Navy ships or at other installations, can detect missiles in two ways. THAAD would not be acting alone in any defense of Israel and could act as a further “deterrent” to an attack, said CNN military analyst Cedric Leighton, a former US Air Force