US announces that advanced THAAD anti-missile system has been installed in Israel

The United States military sent its advanced anti-missile system to Israel, and the equipment is now “installed”, according to the country’s Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin.

Austin declined to say whether the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, or THAAD, was operational. But he added: “We have the ability to get it up and running very quickly and we are on pace with our expectations.”

How THAAD works

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 and with a near-perfect success rate in tests.

Using a combination of advanced radar and interceptor systems, THAAD is the only U.S. missile defense system that can attack and destroy short-, medium-, and intermediate-range ballistic missiles, inside or outside the atmosphere, during their terminal phase of flight — dive into your target.

THAAD interceptors are kinetic, meaning they eliminate targets by crashing into them rather than exploding near the approaching warhead.

According to a Congressional Research Service report, the US military has seven THAAD batteries, each consisting of six truck-mounted launchers – with eight interceptors each – a powerful radar system, and a fire control and communications component. .

One of these prized batteries is being sent to Israel to help bolster its already impressive capability to counter incoming missiles “following Iran’s unprecedented strikes against Israel on April 13 and again on October 1,” according to the Pentagon.

The US military will send about 100 troops to Israel to operate the battery, according to the Pentagon. Iran has informed the US that it would retaliate against any further attack by Israel, a source in Tehran told CNN on Saturday (12).

Through a comprehensive command, control and battle management system, THAAD batteries can communicate with a variety of U.S. missile defenses, including Aegis systems—commonly found aboard U.S. Navy ships—and missile defense systems. Patriot, designed to intercept short-range targets.

These other missile defense systems are more numerous than THAAD, an illustration of the importance the Biden administration is placing on this deployment in Israel.

THAAD can be quickly deployed by U.S. Air Force cargo aircraft such as the C-17 and C-5, but the Pentagon has not given a timeline for when it will be active in Israel.

What makes it so accurate?

What makes THAAD so accurate is the radar system that provides targeting information, the Army Transportable/Navy Radar Surveillance Radar, or AN/TPY-2.

The radar system, which can be deployed with the missile battery or already installed on U.S. Navy ships or other installations, can detect missiles in two ways.

In its forward mode, it is configured to acquire and track targets at ranges up to 3,000 kilometers, and in its terminal mode, it is aimed upward to acquire targets during its descent, according to the Missile Defense Project. Iran is about 1,700 kilometers from Israel.

THAAD would not be acting alone in any defense of Israel and could act as an additional “deterrent” to an attack, said CNN military analyst Cedric Leighton, a former US Air Force colonel.

“When put into practice, it will truly add a layer to existing Israeli air and missile defenses,” Leighton said.

Production models of the THAAD system have never failed to intercept targets in tests, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ Missile Threat Project.

And the Israeli system?

Israel already has several anti-missile systems designed to shoot down incoming projectiles.

David’s Sling, a joint project of Israel’s RAFAEL Advanced Defense System and U.S. defense giant Raytheon, uses Stunner and SkyCeptor kinetic interceptors to strike targets up to 300 kilometers away, according to the Missile Threat Project.

Above David’s Sling are Israel’s Arrow 2 and Arrow 3 systems, developed jointly with the United States.

The Arrow 2 uses cluster warheads to destroy ballistic missiles in their terminal phase — as they dive toward their targets — in the upper atmosphere, according to CSIS.

Meanwhile, Arrow 3 uses hit-to-kill technology to intercept ballistic missiles in space, like THAAD can do.

The lowest level of projectiles fired at Israel is countered by the Iron Dome defense system, made up of 10 batteries, each with three to four maneuverable missile launchers.

This is not the first time that Washington has sent a THAAD battery to Israel. Another was dispatched in 2019 for an exercise.

Elsewhere, THAAD deployments have also been closely watched by US rivals, particularly China.

The deployment of a THAAD battery in South Korea in 2017, as ballistic missile threats from North Korea increased, drew vehement opposition from Beijing, which experts said was concerned that the powerful radar could be used to spy on activity. inside China.

The US has also deployed THAAD to Guam to protect vital US military bases on the Pacific island from potential ballistic missile threats from North Korea or China.

(With information from Phil Stewart of Reuters in Kiev; and Brad Lendon of CNN )

This content was originally published in USA announces that advanced THAAD anti-missile system has been installed in Israel on the CNN Brasil website.

Source: CNN Brasil