On the morning of Oct. 15, two U.S. Air Force C-17 heavy-lift aircraft left Alabama and landed at the southern Israeli Air Force base of Nevatim. The aircraft carried the essential components of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery. By the end of the following day, seven additional C-17A Globemaster III heavy lift aircraft — with payload capacities of 170,900 pounds — had landed at Nevatim to offload THAAD auxiliary components and U.S. service members to operate the systems. The arrival of the THAAD battery comes in the wake of Iran’s Oct. 1 missile strike on Israel. On Oct. 9, Israel Defense Minister Yoav Gallant stated that a retaliatory strike on Iran, “[W]ill be lethal, precise, and above all, surprising.” The deployment of THAAD is part of Biden’s “ironclad” commitment to Israel’s security against further Iranian strikes. What Is a THAAD Battery? A single THAAD battery contains a long-range radar unit that detects ballistic threats and communicates with a mobile command and control center. The command center operates six truck-mounted launchers, each containing eight interceptors. The entire battery is operated by approximately 100 U.S. soldiers. The THAAD system is designed to detect hostile ballistic missiles inside and outside the Earth’s atmosphere and launch high-speed interceptors to collide with and neutralize the incoming missiles during the descending phase of flight. It is manufactured by Lockheed Martin, with radars built by Raytheon, and comes with a price tag of $1 billion apiece. The technology and effectiveness of the THAAD is highly sought after and was included on the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense’s “wish list” given to Congress on Dec. 6, 2023. The Ukrainian government hoped it would be effective in intercepting Russian Iskander and Kinzhal missiles. During the U.S. negotiations with Saudi Arabia, a THAAD battery was also on the table in exchange for recognizing Israel as part of the normalization Abraham Accords. The U.S. Congress, however, denied Kiev the THAAD — despite its two-year war with Russia. The deal with Riyadh has since been derailed following the Oct. 7 hostilities. Israel’s Defenses The rapid deployment of a THAAD battery to Israel leaves many speculating over the status of Israel’s munition stockpiles, the nature of U.S.–Israel relations, and the future of direct Iranian involvement in Israel’s conflict. The London-based Financial Times was the first to report that Israel had a severe shortage of defensive missiles. The deployment of THAAD is perceived as the U.S. rushing to fill the deficit as Israel prepares for a major strike on Iran — an act that will, undoubtedly, trigger retaliation. “Israel’s munitions issue is serious,” noted Dana Stroul, a former senior U.S. defense official. She further added that, “[T]he U.S. can’t continue supplying Ukraine and Israel at the same pace. We are reaching a tipping point.” Most of Israel’s defensive interceptors are manufactured at the State-owned Israel Aerospace Industries. Chief Executive Boaz Levy noted that production lines are working 24 hours, seven days a week. “It is no secret that we need to replenish stocks,” Levy said, although Israel does not officially disclose the status of its stockpiles. The Iranian Threat Fast tracking the deployment of the THAAD battery to Israel comes in the wake of two Iranian aerial assaults. Further Iranian aggression is anticipated as the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) progressively dismantle Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon. The first Iranian attack in April consisted of Iran launching roughly 300 cruise missiles and drones at Israel. The country’s Iron Dome and David’s Sling air defense systems effectively neutralized all of them — with the help of U.S. and allied naval and air power. The second Iranian strike on Oct. 1 saw over 180 new Iranian Fattah-1 hypersonic missiles ascend into the atmosphere, alter trajectory, and descend toward targets at immense speeds, posing significant challenges to traditional air defense systems. Most of these missiles were intercepted by Israel’s third line of aerial defense — Arrow 2 and 3 — which sent interceptors at hypersonic speed to intercept in the upper atmosphere. The Israeli Arrow manufacturers noted, “[The system] performed as expected, with wonderful results against the Iranian strike.” (READ MORE: Israel Fends Off Massive Iranian Missile Barrage) Although the October attack resulted in only one death — a Palestinian in the West Bank from shrapnel — almost two dozen missiles slipped through the defensive shield and landed near the Nevatim Air Force base. Another landed in the vicinity of the Mossad headquarters in Tel Aviv. I witnessed several others landing in the highly populated, but open area of Ra’anana and Kefar Sava. Questions emerged whether these slipped through because of system failures or because of strategic defensive decisions. “It’s only a matter of time before Israel starts to run out of interceptors and has to prioritize how they are deployed,” noted Ehud Eilam, a former researcher at Israel’s Ministry of Defense. It is hoped that THAAD will be effective at intercepting Iranian Fattah-1 missiles — although this has yet to be proven. U.S.–Israel Relations The deployment of a THAAD battery also signals a shift in U.S. policy. Although the U.S. has been Israel’s main supplier of arms throughout the war — more than 50,000 tons worth of weapons in the last year — the Biden administration has been tough, at least in verbal rhetoric, over Israel’s military engagements with Hamas and Hezbollah. The White House has long maintained that a diplomatic resolution must be reached to secure the return of Israeli hostages taken on Oct. 7 and that the fighting in Gaza and along the Lebanon border end. This policy has caused many in Washington to threaten to withhold arms to Israel should Jerusalem act outside the constraints of U.S. directives — as was seen during the IDF ground incursion in Rafah and the recent precision strikes of Hezbollah strongholds and arsenals in Beirut. The arrival of THAAD, along with the necessary 100 U.S. service members to operate the systems, is a clear shift away from diplomatic solutions to a defensive bolstering of strength to deter belligerency. The Pentagon described the deployment as, “[P]art of the broader adjustments the U.S. military has made in recent months, to support the defense of Israel and protect Americans from attacks by Iran and Iranian-aligned militias.” Last week, however, was not the first appearance of THAAD or U.S. soldiers on Israeli soil. A battery was temporarily deployed to Israel in 2019 for training exercises — although Israeli forces never operated the system and it was handled exclusively by U.S. personnel. Unconfirmed reports late last year also claim that an earlier THAAD battery had been covertly deployed as early as November 2023 in response to increasing Houthis missile attacks. Furthermore, the current THAAD battery is presumed to operate by utilizing the top-secret AN/TPY-2 radar facility that the U.S. military has long maintained on top of Mount Har Qeren in southern Israel, dubbed “Site 512.” Around 300 U.S. service members of the 1st Space Brigade have been operating this largely unknown radar facility to detect early missile warnings. The increased presence of advanced U.S. equipment and personnel in Israel is a hopeful sign of a strengthening partnership amid an escalating and expanding war. However, an administration change in November could alter the level of strength or leverage this partnership maintains. READ MORE on Israel: Israel and the Twilight of the Terror Masters A Growing Nightmare for Kamala Harris: The Israel–Hezbollah Escalation One Year After Oct 7., the Heartbreak and Hope of Israel and the Jewish People The post US Equipment and Troops Deployed to Deter Iranian Aggression Against Israel appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.