US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin announced on Saturday that the country is deploying two of its most potent anti-missile systems, the THAAD and more PATRIOT systems to the area.
In recent years, the US and Israel conducted a number of large-scale joint exercises in which the US air defence systems have been operated jointly with the Israeli ones. The exercise simulated a scenario in which US forces arrive in Israel to provide assistance in missile defence and included operational procedures that will facilitate the joint operation of Israeli and American ballistic missile interceptors and detection systems.
During the exercises, the US personnel became acquainted with the main Israeli air defence systems: the Iron Dome, David’s Sling, and Arrow. The U.S. AN/TPY-2 radar based in Israel permanently plays a major role in the preparations for a joint defensive action.
The American long-range radar based in Southern Israel has the same hardware as the radar system used by the THAAD. Israeli sources said that the TPY-2 operated by American soldiers has a range of about 1240 miles. Placed in Israel, the radar can detect ballistic missiles launched from Iran.
