The THAAD system the US is deploying to Israel has rarely seen combat, but its test record has been flawless since it came online

• The US is sending a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery and American operators to Israel.
• THAAD is a highly advanced air-defense system that can intercept ballistic missiles.
• The upcoming deployment follows two massive Iranian attacks on Israel, the Pentagon said on Sunday.

The US is sending an air-defense system to Israel that has rarely seen combat but has had a flawless flight test intercept record since it became operational.

The Pentagon announced Sunday that the US will deploy a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, battery to Israel following two massive Iranian missile attacks on the country, the most recent of which occurred earlier this month.

The THAAD battery, which will arrive with a crew of American military personnel to operate the system, will supplement Israel’s vaunted air-defense network, Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said in a statement.

A combat-tested system

THAAD is designed to intercept short-, medium-, and intermediate-range ballistic missiles during the terminal (or final) phase of their flight. It is considered one of the best air-defense systems in the world.

The system can engage targets out to ranges between 93 to 124 miles both inside and outside the atmosphere and uses a “hit-to-kill” interceptor, meaning it takes down an incoming missile by directly colliding with it rather than exploding nearby.

THAAD, which is made by Lockheed Martin, is the middle tier of the US military’s sophisticated ballistic missile defense network. It covers a larger area than the Patriot system but less than the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense and Ground-based Midcourse Defense systems.

The US Army began developing THAAD in 1992, but it saw setbacks during its development, including several test failures, according to the Missile Defense Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

The US military then redesigned THAAD and carried out 18 intercept tests between 2006 and 2019 — four were canceled before launch because of target malfunctions, per CSIS, while the other 14 were successful.

The think tank says that since THAAD production began, the air-defense system has not failed an intercept test, and the manufacturer said in December 2023 that “the THAAD Weapon System has a 100% flight test intercept record.”

THAAD notched its first operational intercept in a combat environment in January 2022 when a battery operated by the United Arab Emirates successfully intercepted a ballistic missile launched by Houthi rebels in Yemen.

A typical THAAD battery can be deployed very quickly and consists of nearly 100 soldiers, six truck-mounted launchers, 48 interceptors, an advanced radar, and a fire control and communications element, according to a Congressional Research Service report from April.

The Army has seven THAAD batteries, with several outside the continental US, including in South Korea and Guam. Lockheed was awarded a contract for $74 million for an eighth battery in April 2022.

US defense of Israel grows

The US has deployed a THAAD battery to the Middle East on multiple occasions. Washington sent one to Israel in 2019 for training purposes and an air-defense exercise and dispatched another to the region to protect American forces shortly after Hamas carried out its Oct. 7, 2023, massacre in Israel.

Ryder, the Pentagon spokesperson, said the new decision to deploy the THAAD battery to Israel follows two Iranian attacks on Israel — one on April 13 and a second on October 1.

Iran launched more than 300 missiles and drones at Israel during the April attack, although nearly all of them were intercepted by Israel and its allies, including the US.

In the October attack, Tehran fired over 180 ballistic missiles, several of which hit their targets. Most of the projectiles were intercepted by Israel and US forces.

THAAD will complement Israel’s highly advanced missile-defense shield, which consists of David’s Sling and the Arrow systems (Arrow 2 and its successor Arrow 3). The well-known Iron Dome system is designed to take out short-range rockets and artillery.

“This action underscores the United States’ ironclad commitment to the defense of Israel, and to defend Americans in Israel, from any further ballistic missile attacks by Iran,” Ryder said of the THAAD deployment on Sunday.

He said the move is part of the broader changes that the US military has made to defend Israel and protect American forces from attacks by Iran and its regional proxies. The Pentagon has also dispatched additional warships and fighter aircraft to the Middle East.