Posted on 10/21/24
| News Source: Times of Israel
The US military has rushed its advanced anti-missile system to Israel and it is now “in place,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Monday.
THAAD, or the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, is a critical part of the US military’s layered air defense systems and adds to Israel’s already formidable anti-missile defenses.
“The THAAD system is in place,” Austin said, speaking to reporters before he arrived in Ukraine on Monday.
He declined to say whether it was operational, but added: “We have the ability to put it into operation very quickly and we’re on pace with our expectations.”
The missile defense battery was sent by the US military to protect Israel in case of an Iranian reaction to an expected Israeli reprisal attack following Tehran firing 200 ballistic missiles at Israel earlier this month.