Which are designed to defeat operational-tactical and ballistic missiles medium range.

THAAD long-range interception missile defense system. Photo: Reuters

As reported on the official website of the US Pacific Command, the missile defense system is intended “solely to protect the Republic of Korea from a nuclear missile threat from the North (DPRK).” This happened against the backdrop of North Korea testing ballistic missiles.

The South Korean Ministry of Defense has confirmed that the THAAD system is planned to be deployed in Seongju County on the site of the former Lotte Corporation golf course, the agency notes. In 1-2 months the deployment of this the latest system The missile defense will be completed.

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Development of the American THAAD mobile anti-missile system began in 1992 by a group of industrial enterprises led by Lockheed Martin Missiles and Space. At the beginning of 1995, the White Sands missile defense site (New Mexico) was deployed prototypes launcher. In January 2006, a deal was concluded with Lockheed Martin for the supply of the first 2 THAAD systems with 48 anti-missile defenses for them. On given time 39 test launches are known (including the interception of a training target in conditions close to combat), 31 of which were considered successful.

THAAD performance characteristics

THAAD anti-missile - single-stage solid propellant (launch weight 900 kg, length 617 and maximum body diameter 37 cm), consists of a warhead, transition compartment and solid propellant rocket engine(solid propellant rocket motor) with a tail skirt-stabilizer, developed by Pratt & Whitney.

The head part of the anti-missile missile is made in the form of a detachable homing kinetic interception stage, designed to destroy ballistic targets through a direct hit. In its nose part there is a double-leaf aerodynamic fairing, which can be dropped at the final phase of the anti-missile missile (AM) flight.

The interception stage includes: a multispectral infrared homing head (GOS), operating in the middle (3.3 - 3.8 µm) and far (7 - 10 µm) sections of the IR range, a command-inertial control system, as well as a propulsion system ( Remote control) maneuvering and spatial orientation.

THAAD is designed to destroy operational-tactical missiles (OTR, firing range up to 1000 km) and medium-range ballistic missiles (MRBMs, up to 3500 km) at altitudes of 40-150 km and ranges up to 200 km.

Launcher

The launcher houses ten missile launchers in transport and launch containers. They are mounted in a single module on the chassis of a 10-ton M1075 tractor, developed on the basis of a heavy off-road truck from Oshkosh Truck Corporation. The total weight of the launcher is 40 tons, length is 12 m and height is 3.25 m. It takes 30 minutes to reload. The THAAD launchers are air transportable and can be transported on C-141 heavy cargo aircraft.

Command post

The command post (CP) can be removed from the radar station (radar) at a distance of up to 14 km. It provides signal processing and data exchange between control units.

The THAAD complex uses the so-called “kinetic interception” concept - only the kinetic energy of the hardware unit is used to hit the target. According to the developers, due to the high kinetic energy of the hardware unit, the THAAD complex should be significantly more effective against outdated ballistic missiles (such as the R-17).

The American foreign policy department approved the sale deal Saudi Arabia THAAD missile defense systems. The contract amount is $15 billion. Earlier, an RBC source reported the sale of Russian S-400s to Riyadh

THAAD missile defense systems (Photo: U.S. Force Korea/AP)

The US State Department has approved the sale of THAAD ground-based missile defense systems to Saudi Arabia. This is stated in a press release (.pdf) published on the website of the Pentagon Defense Cooperation and Security Agency.

As noted in the military department, the cost of the contract will be $15 billion. This amount also takes into account the costs of service maintenance, supply of spare parts and equipment. The supply of weapons is planned as part of a general shipment of defensive weapons worth $110 billion.

As part of the contract, Saudi Arabia will receive from Washington 44 THAAD launchers, 360 missile defense interceptor missiles, 16 groups of THAAD mobile tactical fire and communications control stations, seven AN/TPY-2 THAAD radars, 43 tractors, generators, electrical units, trailers, communication equipment and so on. The American side also committed to training military personnel who will subsequently service anti-missile installations, as well as to providing contractor services for technical and logistics personnel, construction of facilities, and research.

This is exactly the kind of military support that the Saudi authorities, the Pentagon unit emphasizes, previously requested from Washington.

“This transaction advances U.S. foreign policy and national security objectives, and supports the long-term security of Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf region in the face of Iranian and other regional threats,” the U.S. military said in a statement.

The Pentagon also assured that if the THAAD sale deal is approved by Congress, the deployment of THAAD systems in Saudi Arabia “will not change the basic military balance in the region.” The military also noted that the sale of the installations “will not adversely affect US defense.”

The announcement that the State Department has approved the transaction does not mean that the sale has already been legally completed. The next step will be approval of the deal in the US Congress. Lawmakers will have 30 days to reject or approve the agreement.

After US President Donald Trump's visit to Saudi Arabia at the end of May (this was the Republican's first foreign trip as head of state), reports began to appear that the American side, during meetings with the Saudi government, discussed the possibility of selling American THAAD and Patriot complexes to Riyadh . The White House press secretary after the trip said that in total Saudi Arabia is ready to buy weapons from Washington for almost $110 billion. In addition, the contract package includes the supply of 150 American Black Hawk helicopters.

Earlier, on September 5, Al-Arabiya TV channel reported that during a visit to Moscow, the Saudi king agreed with the Russian authorities on the purchase of anti-aircraft missile systems S-400. RBC's source at the Almaz-Antey concern, which produces these air defense systems, confirmed this information. Kommersant's interlocutors familiar with the progress of the negotiations say that the Saudi military can buy “at least four divisions” of S-400 from Moscow, the total amount of the transaction will be about $2 billion. There are reports in the Kremlin about the deal

The U.S. Army deployed one of its seven terminal high altitude interception missile (THAAD) batteries to Romania. This deployment coincides with the closure of the Aegis Ashore ground-based missile defense system also located in Romania for a planned upgrade.

Installation of THAAD missile defense battery equipment began on May 17, 2019 near the location of the Aegis Ashore ground-based missile defense system. The US Army and the US Department of Defense independently first posted at least one photo of the installation being prepared for combat duty, and then quickly deleted it. Some websites have saved this photo.

The deployment of the THAAD missile defense system is a controversial issue. This system, in theory, has the same capabilities as the Aegis Ashore missile defense systems and helps close the gap created during the temporary suspension of the Aegis complex.

However, the installation of THAAD batteries causes a hostile reaction from the Russian leadership, as was the case with the Aegis Ashore ground-based system. Russia “does not understand what tasks the Aegis Ashore system will perform in the anti-missile field,” Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said at the end of April 2019.

The Pentagon and NATO have repeatedly tried to explain the reasons for the deployment of the THAAD missile defense system. “At NATO's request, the Secretary of Defense will deploy a U.S. Army high-altitude terminal intercept missile defense system to Romania this summer in support of NATO's missile defense system,” a U.S. European Command spokesman said in early April 2019.

“The THAAD missile defense system from the 69th Artillery Air Defense Brigade, 32nd Air and Missile Defense Command will be integrated into the existing missile defense architecture for a limited period of time this summer, when planned maintenance and modernization of the Romanian ground-based missile defense system takes place "Aegis Ashore"

As of early 2019, the US Army had received approximately 200 missiles for its seven THAAD batteries and approximately 40 launchers. The US Missile Defense Agency on its website calls THAAD "a ground-based element capable of shooting down ballistic missiles both in the atmosphere and beyond."

US ground forces have THAAD missile defense batteries on the island of Guam, as well as in South Korea. In March 2019, the US Army deployed one THAAD battery to Israel.

Context

Uncle Sam's Hidden Intentions

People's Daily 08/02/2016

Russia will wait: China will tell the US everything itself

Ming Bao 04/05/2017

TNI: US anti-missile system is heading to Europe

The National Interest 04/16/2019 Aegis Ashore is a ground-based version of the US Navy SM-3 missile defense system. The US Missile Defense Agency, through NATO, operates Aegis Ashore ground-based systems in Poland and Romania. These installations help protect Europe and the United States from restricted missile strikes from such Middle Eastern powers as Iran.

However, the United States' missile defense system has been a source of resentment in Russia for decades. Moscow considers American anti-missile systems a threat to the global balance of power, since they could theoretically render them ineffective Russian missiles, equipped nuclear warheads. In fact, most US missile defense systems lack the speed, range and accuracy to intercept ICBMs.

Only US ground-based mid-range missile defense systems in Alaska and California, both designed to intercept North Korean missiles, have demonstrated the ability to defeat some intercontinental ballistic missiles in test tests.

Many Russians mistakenly believe that ground complexes Aegis Ashore can be equipped with surface-to-surface missiles and can therefore be used in a surprise first strike. Aegis Ashore missile defense systems "are the cause of a specific Russian fear," said Jeffrey Lewis, an expert in the field. nuclear weapons Middlebury Institute of International Studies located in Monterey.

According to him, many Russians believe that the United States is secretly planning to equip its anti-missile installations in Poland and Romania with nuclear warheads, thus turning them into what Lewis calls a “covert” strike force whose true purpose is to launch a nuclear surprise attack. a strike on Moscow in order to “decapitate” the Russian leadership.

"It's crazy, but they're 100 percent sure of it," Lewis said, referring to the Russians.

NATO emphasizes that neither Aegis Ashore nor THAAD pose a threat to Russia. “The THAAD battery will be under the operational control of NATO and under the full political control of the North Atlantic Council,” the alliance statement emphasized. “It will be in combat condition only until the Aegis Ashore complex returns to its place in Romania.” The upgrades and deployment are expected to continue for several weeks.”

“In accordance with NATO's missile defense system, the operation of THAAD batteries will be directed against potential threats arising outside the Euro-Atlantic area. The Aegis Ashore complexes deployed in Romania are purely defensive systems.”

David Ax is the defense editor of National Interest magazine. He is the author of the graphic novels War Fix, War is Boring, and Machete Squad.

InoSMI materials contain assessments exclusively of foreign media and do not reflect the position of the InoSMI editorial staff.

MOSCOW, December 27 – RIA Novosti, Vadim Saranov. Missiles began to fly into Saudi Arabia frequently. Recently, the UN Security Council condemned the attack by the Yemeni Houthis on Riyadh. The purpose of the attack was Royal Palace Al-Yamamah, but nothing happened. The missile was either shot down or deviated from its course. Against this background, Saudi Arabia intends to significantly strengthen its missile defense. The main candidates for the role of “umbrella” are: American system THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) and the Russian S-400 Triumph air defense system. Read about the advantages and disadvantages of competitors in the RIA Novosti material.

S-400 hits further, THAAD hits higher

Objectively, THAAD and the S-400 Triumph air defense system are conditional competitors. "Triumph" is primarily designed to destroy aerodynamic targets: aircraft, cruise missiles, unmanned vehicles. THAAD, on the other hand, is a system originally designed to combat short- and medium-range ballistic missiles. "American" is capable of destroying targets at altitudes that are prohibitive for conventional air defense systems - 150 kilometers, and according to some reports, even 200 kilometers. Newest anti-aircraft missile 40N6E of the Russian "Triumph" does not work above 30 kilometers. However, according to experts, the destruction altitude indicator, especially when it comes to combating operational-tactical missiles, is not critical.

“In theater missile defense, targets are destroyed on downward trajectories, and not in space,” Lieutenant General Aitech Bizhev, former deputy commander-in-chief of the Air Force for the unified air defense system of the CIS countries, told RIA Novosti. “In the late 1980s, in missile defense "In the capital, it was planned to use two S-300V2 regiments. At the Kapustin Yar training ground, they created a model of the defense of Moscow with the same geometric dimensions and launched targets from the stratosphere. All of them were destroyed at a distance of 120 kilometers."

By the way, main danger for Saudi Arabia today they represent the R-17 Scud operational-tactical missiles and the Qahir and Zelzal tactical missiles, created on the basis Soviet complex"Luna-M".

© AP Photo/U.S. Force Korea

© AP Photo/U.S. Force Korea

Another key difference between the American and Russian complexes is the principle of operation. If the Triumph hits targets with fragments after detonating the missile warhead near the target, then the THAAD, deprived of the warhead, hits the missile directly with a kinetic block. Meanwhile, despite the apparent complexity of this solution, the Americans managed to achieve good results during the tests - the probability of destroying a target with one anti-missile missile is 0.9, if THAAD backs up a simpler complex, this figure will be 0.96.

The main advantage of Triumph when used as an anti-missile system is its higher range. For the 40N6E missile it is up to 400 kilometers, while for THAAD it is 200 kilometers. Unlike the S-400, which can fire 360 ​​degrees, the THAAD, when deployed, has a field of fire of 90 degrees horizontally and 60 degrees vertically. But at the same time, the “American” has better vision— the detection range of its AN/TPY-2 radar is 1000 kilometers versus 600 kilometers for the Triumph.

Combine incompatible

As you can see, Saudi Arabia intends to build its missile defense on two completely different systems. This approach may seem somewhat strange, because when using them, serious compatibility problems may arise. However, according to experts, this is a completely solvable issue.

"These two systems cannot be controlled automatically from a single command post, military expert Mikhail Khodarenok told RIA Novosti. — There are completely different mathematics, completely different logic. But this does not exclude the possibility of them combat use separately. They can be deployed in different places or even within the defense of one object, if their tasks are divided into heights and sectors. They can simply complement each other perfectly if they are in the same group."

Saudi Arabia's desire to acquire both Russian and American systems may be dictated by other considerations. After Operation Desert Storm, during which the French air defense forces in Iraq anti-aircraft missile systems suddenly found themselves inoperative, potential buyers began to be more cautious about purchasing weapons manufactured in the West.

“American weapons may contain hidden weapons,” says Mikhail Khodarenok. “For example, an F-16 of the Jordanian Air Force cannot shoot down an F-16 of the Israeli Air Force. That is, if they use American weapons, only the S-400, which is capable of working against conventional aerodynamic targets, can hit it. It is possible that this is the only reason they are buying the Russian system.”

The most important difference between THAAD and Triumph is the price. The cost of one THAAD battery, which consists of six launchers for eight interceptor missiles each, is about $2.3 billion. The innovative AN/TPY-2 radar costs another 574 million. The cost of an S-400 battalion with eight launchers of four missiles each is about $500 million. The Russian complex costs almost six times less, while the advantages of THAAD, at least for now, are not obvious.

The US military conducted a successful test of the THAAD missile defense system in Alaska, during which a medium-range ballistic missile was hit.

The Pentagon successfully tests the THAAD missile

Head of the US Department of Defense Missile Defense Agency, Lieutenant General Samuel Greaves stated that these tests showed the capabilities of the THAAD system and its ability to intercept and destroy modern ballistic missiles.

In addition, the Pentagon stated that these tests should not be linked to the situation on the Korean Peninsula, and this is quite significant, given that the United States recently delivered such systems to this region - formally to combat the “threat” posed by the missile program North Korea, but in fact – for the development of its global missile defense system.

It is also interesting that the distance between Alaska and Hawaii is 5 thousand kilometers, and this suggests - to use the terminology - that the THAAD system is capable of fighting not only medium-range ballistic missiles of the DPRK, but also missiles that are in service with Russia and China.

Expert at the Center for Strategies and Technologies Sergey Denisentsev in conversation with FBA "Economy Today" noted that the presence of such missile weapons on the territory of the Korean Peninsula, in any case, will seriously change the strategic balance of forces in this important region of the world.

In the coming years, the presence of THAAD will become a trump card in the hands of the Americans

Naturally, the home zone of domestic nuclear submarines strategic purpose of the Pacific Fleet is located much further north, and the routes of Russian ground-based ballistic missiles run through North Pole, but still this fact must be taken into account, as well as the fact that the real characteristics of THAAD are higher than those originally stated.

“The fact is that any missile defense system changes the strategic balance of forces, and in this THAAD is also a threat and a destabilizing factor, and if we are talking about South Korea, not so much for Russia, but for China,” Denisentsev states.

Here we can recall that the entire strategy of the PRC, including the construction artificial islands in the South China Sea, aims to ensure an acceptable level of operational freedom for its strategic forces, and in this regard, the deployment of THAAD in South Korea will be another important factor that Beijing will have to constantly take into account.

“As for the THAAD system itself in the context of its comparison with Russian analogues, our modern complexes such as S-300 and S-400 have similar functions, but you need to understand that these are anti-aircraft, not anti-missile systems. In practice, this is far from the same thing the same, since the fight against missiles is still a separate topic,” concludes Denisentsev.

The USA realized the advantages of the nineties

It must be recalled here that in times Cold War Missile defense problems were regulated by the ABM Treaty, which was signed by Moscow and Washington in 1972 and was in force until 2002, when the United States unilaterally withdrew from this agreement.

Then our countries were in different situations– Russia was just beginning to move away from the nineties, and in the USA an active phase of development of almost ready-made anti-missile systems, as a result of which it should not be surprising that the Americans took the lead here.

“The THAAD system began to be developed in the United States much earlier than our analogues, so the level of technical readiness of this military weapon in the context of countering ballistic missiles is still higher than that of Russian analogues", Denisentsev sums up.

In this regard, the first Russian means A missile defense system, where the fight against ballistic missiles will not be optional, but one of the main tasks, will be the promising S-500 complex.

This system will apply the principle of a separate solution for the destruction of ballistic and aerodynamic targets, and its main combat mission will be the fight against combat equipment of ballistic missiles, i.e. directly with nuclear warheads.

Any missile defense system changes the strategic balance of power in the world

Interestingly, this circumstance allowed the American publication National Interest call the S-500 a direct analogue of THAAD, although, in fact, the range of tasks Russian system much wider.

“The Russian S-500 system is not ready yet, since the development of such a complex is a very complex process, but the Americans with THAAD already have everything working. This is not surprising, since they started working much earlier, attracted more forces and resources, and also conducted many tests before this event in the skies over Alaska,” states Denisentsev.

Thus, we can conclude that in the case of THAAD, the Americans realized their very serious advantage in time, although it must be understood that the presence of such a system will not change the strategic balance of power between Russia and the United States. At the same time, THAAD's presence in South Korea could have a significant impact on neighboring states.

“When we talk about Russia’s interests, several deployed THAAD systems will not change anything, but this, in turn, will become a factor for the United States to put pressure on other nuclear countries in the region. However, if at some point near the borders of Russia the United States puts many such systems, and they are supplemented with other components, including, for example, space-based missile defense systems, then all this will become a threat to our country,” Denisentsev concludes.