U.S. sending anti-missile system to Israel

The U.S. says it will deploy a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) battery to Israel, along with about 100 troops to operate it, in the wake of missile attacks from Iran


HOW THAAD WORKS

ASCENT PHASE
1
Radar tracking 
2
AN/TPY-2 X-band radar
MID-COURSE PHASE
In-flight target updates
3
Truck-mounted computers
4
Launcher carries eight interceptors
TERMINAL PHASE
5


1 Hostile missile launch: THAAD effective against short, medium and intermediate-range missiles in their terminal phase of flight

2 Radar: Scans horizon for threats. Hostile missile can be detected at range of up to 2,000km

3 Fire control system: Uses radar data to identify and verify threat before initiating launch

4 Launcher: Receives targeting data and launches interceptor. Hostile missile can be intercepted inside or just outside Earth’s atmosphere at altitudes of 40-150km and ranges of up to 200km

5 Interceptor: Homes in using infrared seeker and destroys hostile missile by force of impact


Typical THAAD battery includes six launchers and each launcher takes up to 30 minutes to reload


Sources: CSIS, Lockheed Martin, Reuters
Picture: Wikimedia Commons
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