Pars Today – The missiles fired by Yemen in support of the Palestinian people towards the territories occupied by the Israeli regime have proven the ineffectiveness of the American THAAD missile defense system deployed in the Occupied Territories.
When the Islamic Republic of Iran, after a period of restraint in the face of violations of its sovereignty and the assassination of martyrs such as “Ismail Haniyeh,” “Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah,” IRGC Brigadier General “Seyyed Abbas Nilforoushan,” and the massacre of innocent Palestinian and Lebanese women and children by the Zionist regime, exercised its right to self-defense under the United Nations Charter on October 1, 2024, in operation “True Promise 2,” targeting the Occupied Territories with hundreds of ballistic missiles, the inadequacy of the Zionist regime’s defense systems was exposed. The missiles of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) targeted the security and intelligence facilities of the Zionist regime, with 90% of the launches successfully hitting their targets.
Following Iran’s True Promise 2 operation, the U.S. deployed the THAAD system to support Tel Aviv in the territories occupied by the Zionists. While the Zionists and their media arms heavily promoted the deployment of the American THAAD system in the Occupied Territories, a Yemeni ballistic missile named “Palestine 2” struck Tel Aviv, proving the system’s ineffectiveness in practice.
In this report by Pars Today, we examine the features of the American THAAD missile defense system:
The THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) system, developed by the United States, is designed to protect deployed forces, critical population centers, and sensitive infrastructure from short-, medium-, and long-range ballistic missiles both inside and outside the atmosphere.
History
The U.S. Congress passed the National Missile Defense Act in 1991. Under this law, the U.S. was required to develop a deployable defense system by the mid-1990s for emergency use and potential operations.
In 1992, the U.S. Army selected Lockheed Martin as the primary contractor for the project, initially named Theater High Altitude Area Defense, with a contract worth $689 million. The first phase of the project began in 1995 with the system’s initial flight tests and continued until 1999. The results of these tests were highly valuable, leading to a redesign of the THAAD missile.
The second phase began as planned in 2000 and culminated in 2008 when the U.S. officially commissioned the first THAAD battery. From the start of the second phase until 2013, the system successfully completed 12 tests without a single failure.
Structure
THAAD consists of four main components: the radar, the fire control and communications system, the launcher, and the interceptor missile.
Radar
The THAAD radar is one of the most advanced radars in the world. It can detect and track targets at a distance of up to 1,000 kilometers.
Launcher
Each THAAD launcher vehicle carries eight missiles and can be ready to fire in less than 30 minutes. Reloading can also be completed in under 30 minutes.
Interceptor missile
The THAAD interceptor missile is 6.17 meters long, 37 centimeters in diameter, weighs 900 kilograms, and has a range of 200 kilometers. Its overall structure includes a propulsion system, a separation motor, and a warhead. The propulsion system is a single-stage solid-fuel rocket motor that accelerates the missile to a speed of Mach 8.24.
Possessors
In addition to the United States, which developed the THAAD system, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and the Zionist regime also possess this system.
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