US help with THAAD defense system raises concerns in Israel

tel aviv - Israel is worried about the true reason behind US assistance with advanced THAAD defense system.

Military assistance is coming at a time when Israel is considering the scale of a retaliatory attack against Iran. There are speculations that the US may send the THAAD system in exchange for Israel's commitment to keep such an operation limited. Joe Biden publicly stated that he does not want Israel to target oil and nuclear facilities.

However, the deployment may also indicate that America anticipates Israeli retaliation to be so significant that Iran will be forced to respond. 'Our attack will be powerful, precise, and above all, surprising,' said Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. 'They will not understand what and how it happened.'

The Israeli retaliation, which has been looming for two weeks, is likely to be postponed until the American air defense in Israel is operational. It is unclear when that will be. It is a mobile system and America already has several in the Middle East to protect its own troops.

The last time US soldiers helped their ally from Israeli soil with their own defense weapons was during the first Gulf War. Israel was not involved in that conflict, but Iraq under Saddam Hussein launched dozens of rockets at the country. At that time, in the early '90s, Israel did not have its own defense system.

Now it does. However, the Iranian missile barrage from a couple of weeks ago demonstrated that it is not flawless. Several projectiles landed on air force bases and near the Mossad headquarters.

Israel reported minimal damage, but the exact extent remains unclear. Additionally, a drone from Lebanon managed to evade the Israeli system on Sunday evening, loaded with explosives, and crashed into the dining hall of a military base in Binyamina, about twenty kilometers south of Haifa. Four soldiers were killed and dozens were injured. There was no air alarm beforehand.

THAAD ('Terminal High Altitude Area Defense') is specifically designed to shoot down ballistic missiles. It is a mobile launching setup that can render dozens of missiles ineffective both within and outside the atmosphere with unprecedented precision. The system was previously operational in Israel during a military exercise.

A prominent defense analyst in Israel argues that American assistance is necessary to fend off the expected barrage from Iran. Iranian commentators estimate that the Revolutionary Guards could launch up to a thousand rockets in retaliation, five times more than two weeks ago. These pose a threat to Israeli systems, especially Arrow-2 and Arrow-3.

Analyst Ron Ben-Yishai suggests in a column in Israel's largest newspaper, Yedioth Ahronoth, that the Americans may no longer have enough missile defense on their warships in the Middle East. Therefore, during Iran's first attack on Israel in April, the US reportedly shot down dozens of rockets, while during a much larger attack earlier this month, they only took out a maximum of twelve.

Furthermore, Ben-Yishai points out that two weeks ago, the air defenses of Israel and America were not well coordinated, allowing dozens of rockets to slip through the 'shield.' THAAD is expected to address this issue. The system can also utilize data from its counterpart stationed in Saudi Arabia, closer to Iran.