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Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD)

A single American missile-defense system keeps making headlines whenever it deploys to a new country. It is not Israeli, and it is not India’s.

A THAAD interceptor launches during a US Missile Defense Agency intercept test. Photo: US Missile Defense Agency/Wikimedia Commons, public domain.

📑 Contents

✊ Must Know

What THAAD Is

How It Works

Method THAAD uses hit-to-kill interceptors to destroy short, medium, and intermediate-range ballistic missiles in their terminal phase.
Range It can engage targets 150-200 km away, using its own X-band radar.

💡 Good to Know

Not Israeli, Not India’s

Common wrong guesses THAAD is not an Israeli radar system. It is also not part of India’s indigenous anti-missile programme.

Where It Has Deployed

Global footprint The US has deployed THAAD batteries to South Korea, Guam, and other allied locations.
Recent move It also sent interceptors to Israel in 2024, amid regional tensions.

🌟 Great to Know

Exam Angle

Watch for THAAD questions test whether you know it is American.
Not the trap Its deployment location on a given day is a separate, changing fact.

📝 Previous Year Questions

UPSC CSP 2018 — What THAAD Actually Is

UPSC 2018 The correct answer is (c) An American anti-missile system. THAAD is a US ballistic-missile defense system developed by Lockheed Martin. See UPSC CSP 2018 GS Paper I, Q43.