Terminal High Altitude Area Defense

Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), formerly Theater High Altitude Area Defense, is an American anti-ballistic missile defense system, deployed since 2008, designed to intercept and destroy short-, medium-, and intermediate-range ballistic missiles in their terminal phase (descent or reentry). The THAAD interceptor carries no warhead, instead relying on its kinetic energy of impact to destroy the incoming missile. THAAD was developed after the experience of Iraq's Scud missile attacks during the Gulf War in 1991.

THAAD has an operational range of 200 km. Each battery consists of six transporter erector launcher trucks with eight launch tubes each, 48 interceptors, one AN/TPY-2 transportable radar, three control stations, and a crew of 90 soldiers. The control stations connect to the US C2BMC communications system, integrating THAAD into a layered air defense architecture alongside the longer-range Ground-Based Interceptor, the similar-range Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System, and shorter-range MIM-104 Patriot.

A United States Army program, THAAD is also under the umbrella of the Missile Defense Agency. THAAD was originally scheduled for deployment in 2012, but initial deployment took place in May 2008.

As of 2025, the US Army's Air Defense Artillery Branch operated eight THAAD batteries. While deployments fluctuate, five batteries are based in the US, one in Guam, one in South Korea, while the destination of the eighth battery is unclear. The US Army has deployed THAAD to Israel, Jordan, Romania, and South Korea. Additionally, the United Arab Emirates Air Force operates two batteries and the Royal Saudi Air Force operates one battery with plans to procure a further six. The deployment of a US THAAD in South Korea, announced in 2016 and begun in 2017, allegedly in response to North Korean nuclear and missile capabilities, played a major role in South Korean politics and heightened tensions with China and North Korea, who each feared it would erode their nuclear deterrence.

THAAD made its first operational interception during the Abu Dhabi attack in January 2022, with an Emirati battery intercepting a ballistic missile fired by the Houthis in Yemen. The U.S. Army deployed a THAAD battery to Israel in October 2024, in the aftermath of the 2024 Iran–Israel conflict. Interceptors were intermittently fired against Houthi missile attacks. In the June 2025 Twelve-Day War, reportedly over 150 interceptors were fired, comprising 25% of total number of missiles funded by all prior US military budgets. During the 2026 Iran war, an Iranian missile strike apparently destroyed a THAAD radar in Jordan. The US then began relocating the THAAD from South Korea to the Middle East.