U.S. Deploys THAAD Battery to Israel

An advance team of U.S. military personnel and equipment arrived in Israel on Monday as part of the deployment of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery as Israel considers its response to the October 1 Iranian ballistic missile attack. The THAAD deployment will increase the capacity to intercept Iranian ballistic missiles fired at Israel and demonstrates the need to expedite and expand efforts to increase Israel’s Arrow missile defense capacity. 

The U.S. announced the deployment of a THAAD battery and its crew on October 13. Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said the deployment “underscores the United States’ ironclad commitment to the defense of Israel” and will “help bolster Israel’s air defenses following Iran’s unprecedented attacks against Israel on April 13 and again on October 1.” The system will be fully operational “in the near future” as American personnel and equipment continue to arrive in Israel in “the coming days,” Ryder said on October 15.

The THAAD system provides a globally and rapidly transportable, land-based defense against short-, medium- and intermediate-range ballistic missiles. The system can destroy missiles inside and outside the atmosphere in their terminal phase using a hit-to-kill interceptor that provides regional ballistic missile defense by engaging targets out to 150-200 kilometers. 

A typical THAAD battery consists of 95 soldiers and four major components. They include six truck-mounted launchers with eight interceptors per launcher (for a total of 48), a tactical fire control/communication system component, and an AN/TPY-2 radar.

The United States first demonstrated the ability to rapidly deploy the THAAD system to Israel in a 2019 bilateral exercise. The battery integrated with Israel’s own layered air and missile defense system, which includes the Iron Dome, David’s Sling, and Arrow capabilities.

In the current deployment, the THAAD battery will integrate with the U.S. Navy ships already operating in the Eastern Mediterranean.

A review of Iran’s two direct ballistic missile attacks on Israel this year helps explain why a THAAD battery is being deployed to Israel.

On April 13, Iran and its proxies in Iraq, Syria, and Yemen launched over 110 medium-range ballistic missiles, 30 land-attack cruise missiles, and 150 drones toward Israel. The attack was largely unsuccessful thanks to Israel’s advanced air and missile defense system, as well as the assistance of the U.S. military and others.

On October 1, in an attempt to overwhelm Israel’s defenses, Iran launched a massive barrage of more than 200 ballistic missiles, roughly twice as many ballistic missiles as the April attack. Israel destroyed many of the missiles, and two U.S. destroyers in the Eastern Mediterranean fired a dozen interceptors at the incoming missiles, according to the Pentagon.

Iran has almost certainly seen publicly available reports from commercial imagery analysis suggesting that more than 30 ballistic missiles may have landed on or near Israel’s Nevatim Airbase. According to the same reports, no aircraft were damaged, but the missiles apparently caused damage to some buildings, taxiways, and at least one runway.

Prudence requires Americans and Israelis to prepare for the possibility that future Iranian attacks could include even more ballistic missiles. That is why the THAAD deployment is so significant, but Washington and Jerusalem should not stop there. They should also work together without delay to further enhance Israel’s ballistic missile detection capabilities and strengthen its ability to cope with large-scale ballistic missile attacks.

That means expediting and expanding Arrow launcher and interceptor production. Israel needs a much larger Arrow missile defense system capacity. Admittedly, that will take time, but there is no time to waste, as Iran will likely redouble efforts to replenish and expand its ballistic missile arsenal.

Bradley Bowman is senior director of the Center on Military and Political Power at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, where Cameron McMillan is a research analyst and Lydia LaFavor is a research fellow. For more analysis from Brad and CMPP, please subscribe HERE. Follow Brad on Twitter @Brad_L_Bowman. Follow FDD on Twitter @FDD and @FDD_CMPP. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.