Why the US is giving Israel a powerful Thaad anti-missile system

The Pentagon has confirmed it is sending a high-altitude anti-missile strategy operated by US troops to Israel.

Officials accidental the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (Thaad) artillery volition bolster Israeli aerial defences aft Iran’s rocket onslaught connected the state earlier this month.

President Joe Biden has said it is meant "to support Israel", which is inactive expected to retaliate against an Iranian onslaught involving much than 180 ballistic missiles fired astatine Israel connected 1 October.

The determination has go the absorption of attraction arsenic it involves putting American boots connected the crushed successful Israel.

There are already a tiny fig of US forces successful the state - but this caller deployment of astir 100 troops is important arsenic it signals further US entanglement successful the expanding determination war.

It is besides being scoured for clues arsenic to what it means astir the effectiveness of Israel’s rocket defences arsenic the situation grows.

Israel has yet to motorboat its retaliation for Iran’s attack, which volition beryllium "lethal, precise and supra all, surprising" according to Defence Minister Yoav Gallant.

Tehran said it fired connected Israel due to the fact that it assassinated Hassan Nasrallah, the person of Iranian-backed Hezbollah, successful Beirut.

It’s inactive unclear whether the Thaad deployment is portion of US contingency readying to span gaps identified successful Israel’s aerial defences, oregon whether it points to increasing concerns successful Washington of a much forceful Israeli onslaught connected Iran.

President Biden has opposed immoderate onslaught connected Iranian atomic facilities, arsenic good arsenic connected its lipid oregon vigor infrastructure, amid fears that it would trigger a spiralling struggle and impact the planetary economy.

Whatever the inheritance to the decision, it signals a further request by Israel for US defence assistance amid the expanding Middle East war.

Ballistic missiles similar the Fattah-1used by Iran earlier this period are fired upwards into the Earth’s atmosphere, wherever they alteration trajectory and descend towards their target. One of their subject advantages is their immense velocity compared with cruise missiles oregon drones.

The Thaad strategy is highly effectual against ballistic missiles, according to shaper Lockheed Martin, the biggest US arms maker.

Raytheon, different American weapons firm, builds its precocious radar.

The strategy counts six truck-mounted launchers, with 8 interceptors connected each launcher. It costs astir $1bn (£766m) a artillery and requires a unit of astir 100 to run it.

Thaad is overmuch sought aft including by Ukraine to antagonistic Russian rocket attacks.

Saudi Arabia has orders successful for it, and reportedly wanted much arsenic portion of an American weapons bonanza successful instrumentality for officially recognising Israel: a alleged "normalisation" woody which was mostly derailed aft the 7 October onslaught by Hamas.

Iran’s 1 October strikes connected Israel killed 1 antheral successful Jericho successful the occupied West Bank, who was deed by portion of a rocket that was seemingly changeable down.

Israel has a overmuch vaunted aerial defence system, developed with the US, including Arrow 2 and Arrow 3 exo-atmospheric missiles.

These alert astatine hypersonic velocity and tin sprout down ballistic missiles successful space. The system’s Israeli designers said Arrow "performed arsenic expected" with "wonderful" results against the Iranian strike.

The US supported the antiaircraft operation, firing interceptors from 2 naval destroyers successful the eastbound Mediterranean, alongside enactment from immoderate European and Arab countries.

Washington presented the Iranian onslaught arsenic "defeated and ineffective".

But harm connected the crushed told a little emphatic picture. Satellite images showed harm astatine the Israeli Air Force's Nevatim base, which houses F-35 combatant planes, including craters connected a runway and taxiway.

Decker Eveleth from the Washington-based Center for Naval Analyses (CNA) said the images showed 32 interaction points, including aggregate hits successful the country of F-35 hangers.

"Some F-35s got truly lucky," Mr Eveleth posted connected X.

The Israeli paper Haaretz reported that it was inactive unclear whether harm was caused straight by missiles oregon interception shrapnel.

There were different nonstop impacts, including successful Tel Aviv. One rocket reportedly blew a 30ft (nine metre) heavy crater successful a densely populated country adjacent to the office of Mossad, Israel’s spy agency.

Politically, the Thaad announcement is couched successful presumption of the Biden administration’s "ironclad" enactment for Israel’s defence.

The US has sent much than 50,000 tonnes worthy of weapons to Israel successful the past year, according to Israeli figures.

But it besides highlights immoderate of the argumentation contortions carried retired by Washington: archetypal trying to unit Israel and its adversaries not to escalate the war, alternatively urging diplomacy.

When that has failed the White House has past firmly backed its Israeli ally’s decisions portion moving to shield it diplomatically and militarily.

The Iranian rocket strikes followed Israel’s assassinations of Hamas governmental person Ismail Haniyeh (a negotiator successful the Gaza ceasefire and hostage merchandise talks), Hassan Nasrallah successful Beirut, Israeli aerial strikes successful densely populated parts of Beirut and its crushed penetration of Lebanon.

Israel said it has been striking against Hezbollah’s enactment and destroying its immense rocket stores owed to 11 months of cross-border rocket occurrence into Israel.

It argues lone subject unit and degrading Hezbollah’s capabilities volition guarantee 60,000 Israelis tin instrumentality to their homes successful bluish Israel.

The Pentagon describes the Thaad deployment arsenic portion of "the broader adjustments the US subject has made successful caller months" to enactment Israel and support American unit from attacks by Iran and Iranian-backed groups.

It says a Thaad was deployed successful confederate Israel for an workout successful 2019, the past and lone clip it was known to beryllium there.

A US subject deployment to Israel extracurricular of drills is highly rare, fixed Israel's ain capabilities.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi warned connected Sunday that the US was putting the lives of its troops "at hazard by deploying them to run US rocket systems successful Israel".