America To Send Extra THAAD Battery To Israel

The United States has agreed to send a third Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery and crew to Israel to help fend off attacks from incoming missiles.

According to a press statement released yesterday (Sunday) by the Department of Defence (DoD) at the direction of President Biden, Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin III gave the green light to the deployment of the THAAD battery and its crew to the Middle East to augment Israel's "Iron Dome" integrated air-defence system.

It noted: "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. It is part of the broader adjustments the U.S. military has made in recent months, to support the defense of Israel and protect Americans from attacks by Iran and Iranian-aligned militias." 

The first THAAD was deployed to Israel in 2019 for training and as part of an integrated air-defence exercise; a second system was despatched last year in the wake of the October terrorist attacks.

THAAD is a Lockheed anti-Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) system designed to shoot down short and intermediate-range projectiles in their terminal — i.e descent/reentry — phase. It has also been deployed in Romania, South Korea, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

THAAD has a range of around 125 miles and can reach a maximum altitude of just over 90 miles. Each battery usually has six launchers, each of which carries eight missiles.

• You can read more about the deployment on the U.S. DoD website