It was only within the past few days that Israeli leaders confirmed a US-supplied THAAD anti-ballistic missile system has become operational on the ground in Israel. This marked a major development which has effectively put American troops directly in harm’s way at a moment Israel is still readying to retaliate against Iran for the Oct.1st ballistic missile attack.
But just after the arrival of the first THAAD (or Terminal High Altitude Area Defense), the Israeli government is already requesting that a second one be deployed from the US, according to Israel’s Channel 12 on Friday.
Times of Israel notes that “Each battery consists of six truck-mounted launchers, 48 interceptors, radio and radar equipment, and requires 95 soldiers to operate.”
Already some 100 American soldiers are on the ground manning the first THAAD, but a second battery would bring that total to around 200 US soldiers deployed in Israel. There’s as yet been no indication that the Pentagon plans to ship a second battery.
Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh on Tuesday described that “An advance team of military personnel and some of the initial components needed to operate the missile battery arrived in Israel yesterday [Monday], with additional personnel and components scheduled to arrive in the coming days with a goal of making the THAAD fully capable in the near future.”