Tipsheet

US Sends Anti-Missile System, Troops to Israel

Leah Barkoukis
Leah Barkoukis  |  October 14, 2024 11:45 AM

President Biden directed Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to send a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense battery to Israel, plus U.S. military personnel to operate the system, the Pentagon announced Sunday. 

In a statement, Pentagon spokesman Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said the move to send a THAAD battery comes after Iran’s “unprecedented attacks against Israel on April 13 and again on October 1.” 

Ryder said the U.S. previously deployed a THAAD battery to the region following Hamas' Oct. 7 attacks on Israel to defend American troops and interests. 

The system will support Israel’s air defense system and will help defend the U.S. ally from further attacks by Iran and groups propped up by the regime, the statement added.

The Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, known as THAAD, usually requires about 100 troops to operate, and has six truck-mounted launchers, with eight interceptors on each launcher, as well as a powerful radar. It is capable of intercepting ballistic missiles at ranges of 100 to 125 miles.

Retired Brig. Gen. Zvika Haimovich, former head of the Israeli Air Defense, said Israel expects an even bigger barrage of missiles from Iran in "the next phase," after Tehran fired more than 180 missiles at Israel on Oct 1.

He said Israel needs THAAD as well as its own Iron Dome defense systems, to deal with any attacks, and this latest barrier in Israel’s defense is set to arrive as the nation weighs its response to Iran’s attack.

"You always need more power,” Haimovich told NBC News. "We try to predict the future that the Iranians will use again this method of big salvos, even bigger than these 200 missiles."

The U.S. has aided Israel's defenses from Iranian missile attacks by providing support from warships and fighter jets in the Middle East. But the presence of U.S. equipment and troops inside Israel would deepen American involvement in the crisis.(NBC News)