The THAAD battery was deployed in Israel along with a hundred service personnel.
Israel used the American THAAD missile defense system for the first time during a ballistic attack by Yemeni Houthis. This was reported by a number of Israeli media outlets, publishing a video. According to Defense Express, if this information is true, then this was the first combat use of the system in the world.
This is a THAAD battery, which the United States deployed at the request of Israel along with a hundred service personnel. The War Zone, citing an unnamed official, reports that the THAAD battery deployed by the US in Israel on December 26 did indeed conduct a combat launch against one of the medium-range ballistic missiles (MRBM) launched by the Yemeni Houthis.
As of Friday, December 27, it remained unknown whether the enemy missile was actually shot down by a THAAD interceptor or another system.
A video of the alleged operation of this American system was shown on the network. A voice-over repeats the phrase “18 years waiting for this” several times. True, THAAD was adopted for service 16 years ago.
“In any case, it is said that the US Army has the first combat launch of its actually best anti-missile system THAAD, although it is worth noting that the first combat use of this complex took place in 2022, when a THAAD battery belonging to the UAE intercepted an enemy missile,” writes Defense Express.
The US Army has seven THAAD batteries in service – three of them are deployed in Israel, Guam and South Korea, respectively. The media wrote that Israel asked the US to deploy another battery there, but this information was not confirmed. The request for the supply of the THAAD anti-missile system was submitted by Ukraine.