The Pentagon announced on Sunday that the American THAAD high-altitude anti-missile defense system would be deployed in Israel, in support against Tehran. What will this new anti-aircraft shield be used for?
Sword against shield. Iran’s new hypersonic missile and its use by Israel during the October 1 attacks require strengthening Israel’s anti-aircraft shield. Called Fattah (victorious in Persian), this weapon succeeded in piercing Arrow 3, the system intended to intercept long-range missiles.
Fattah would have passed through to reach the Nevatim air base, where the F-35 fighter jets are located. No aircraft were affected and for good reason, the Air Force staff ordered them to leave this area as quickly as possible. They were all in the air during the attack and the Iranian missile did only minor damage.
To prevent further attacks, the United States is lending a hand to Israel by deploying a THAAD battery (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or high altitude missile defense system) with American soldiers, on orders from President Joe Biden, to the system implement this. This help is valuable. The United States only has 8 THAAD batteries and 800 interceptors. That amount is estimated to be installed in Israel at 3 billion dollars.
• What is a THAAD battery?
Lockheed Martin designed the THAAD battery to address this type of threat that the five elements of Israel’s anti-aircraft shield cannot stop. This system consists of several elements to detect an attack, determine the trajectory of ballistic missiles and their speed to intercept them before they reach their target. This sequence should only last a few minutes to be effective.
The elements that make up a THAAD battery. © Lockheed Martin
A battery is equipped with six or nine mobile launchers equipped with eight interceptors, or between 48 and 72 interceptor missiles. According to Lockheed Martin, THAAD’s test success rate during flight tests conducted in 2022 is 100%.
This is not the first time the United States has deployed this battery in the region. President Biden ordered the military to deploy to the Middle East last year after the October 7 attacks “to protect US troops and interests in the region.” The United States also deployed one to Israel in 2019 for integrated air defense training and exercise.
• Very high accuracy radar
Before it is launched, the signal is given by the AN/TPY-2 ground radar produced by Raytheon, an American company specializing in defense and aerospace.
This radar is installed several kilometers from the shooting location. They are connected to a fiber optic communication line. It can follow the trajectory of several missiles at the same time. Once the trajectory is determined, it guides the interceptors in the direction of the missile being shot down.
Accuracy is ensured by a 9 square meter antenna installed on a truck trailer. This device creates a digital map of the sky using a powerful digital system installed in another trailer equipped with air conditioning to cool the entire electronic device. To operate, the radar requires 2 MW power.
• First soldier
No robots to operate this device. A THAAD battery requires at least one hundred trained soldiers. Ina communicationthe Pentagon specifies that a crew of American soldiers will go to Israel to take command of the device.
To operate, Thaad’s battery requires about a hundred soldiers. © Lockheed Martin
The exact number of American soldiers was not specified, but in his press release, Pentagon spokesman General Pat Ryder indicated that the system could work with “a reduced number of troops depending on the participation of Israeli forces”.
• Stop Iran’s hypersonic and possibly nuclear missiles
These missiles are particularly difficult to stop due to their bell-shaped trajectory. They are powered by powerful batteries that send them to an altitude of more than 3,000 meters and then return to the point of impact at an accelerated speed due to ground traction.
The trajectory used by a ballistic missile © BFMTV
So, we don’t know where they start from and we can only detect them with radar when they go towards their target. The Fattah has a range of 1,400 kilometers and can reach speeds in excess of Mach 10, or 12,348 kilometers per hour.
The Iranian Missile is of greater concern because it is equipped with a nuclear warhead. Fattah’s development also alerted the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which feared that Tehran would create its own nuclear warheads or import them from friendly countries.
According to the Revolutionary Guards, it would be able to bypass “all anti-missile systems” in any country in the region. This assertion contradicts the truth because during the October 1 attack, Israel’s anti-aircraft shield intercepted almost all of the missiles launched by Tehran.
