US Military Receives Major Boost Against Hypersonic Missiles
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The United States military has received an upgraded Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) radar, capable of tracking hypersonic missiles.
Newsweek has contacted the U.S. Missile Defense Agency for further comment by email.
Why It Matters
A hypersonic weapon is defined as one capable of flying at Mach 5 or faster—over five times the speed of sound. Unlike ballistic missiles, which travel on a predictable trajectory, this type of "superfast" weapon can maneuver in flight, making it difficult to intercept.
Both China and Russia have put hypersonic weapons into service, while North Korea and Iran claim to have developed and tested similar systems. In late March, the U.S. conducted a missile defense test by firing a simulated interceptor at a hypersonic target over the Pacific.
The delivery of the upgraded THAAD AN/TPY-2 radar to the U.S. Missile Defense Agency comes as Washington pushes for an American version of Israel's Iron Dome air defense system—also known as the "Golden Dome"—to defend against current and future aerial threats.
What To Know
Raytheon, the U.S. defense contractor that manufactures the AN/TPY-2 radar, announced the delivery on Monday. The radar can detect, track, and discriminate ballistic missiles in multiple phases of flight to defend the U.S. and allies, the company stated.
An AN/TPY-2 radar is positioned in the Kwajalein Atoll of the Marshall Islands during a flight test on August 11, 2012.
An AN/TPY-2 radar is positioned in the Kwajalein Atoll of the Marshall Islands during a flight test on August 11, 2012.
U.S. Missile Defense Agency
While this is the 13th AN/TPY-2 radar handed over to the U.S. Missile Defense Agency, it is the first with a complete Gallium Nitride populated array, providing greater sensitivity to increase range, expanding surveillance capacity and supporting hypersonic defense missions.
The new radar can "see things twice as far," Jon Norman, vice president for Air and Space Defense Systems Requirements and Capabilities at Raytheon, told the specialist outlet Breaking Defense. The radar's original version has an estimated range of over 1,800 miles.
A longer detection range allows earlier decisions to be made on the type of interceptor needed to destroy a target, he said, adding that interceptors can be launched by THAAD as well as other missile defense systems, including the Standard Missile and the Patriot.
Regarding its hypersonic defense capability, Norman claimed that the upgraded radar can now detect what he called "very small targets" when a missile's booster separates from its warhead after launch.
"We can hit it before it starts maneuvering," he told Breaking Defense.
In addition, the radar can detect and track targets more clearly and distinguish between a threat and non-threatening objects, like separation debris, Raytheon explained in a press release.
According to the U.S. Missile Defense Agency, two foreign countries—the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia—have procured the THAAD system. The United Arab Emirates carried out the first combat intercept by THAAD, intercepting ballistic missiles in 2022.
A Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptor launcher sits in position at Andersen Air Force Base in Guam on February 5, 2019.
A Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptor launcher sits in position at Andersen Air Force Base in Guam on February 5, 2019.
Capt. Adan Cazarez/U.S. Army
What People Are Saying
Sam Deneke, president of Air and Space Defense Systems at Raytheon, said: "This is the most advanced version of AN/TPY-2 that Raytheon has built, leveraging years of investment and innovation to produce superior capability at a lower cost to the U.S. armed forces…As demand increases for missile defense of the homeland, the AN/TPY-2 radar is ready to meet the mission."
The U.S. Missile Defense Agency said: "The Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) element provides the Missile Defense System with a globally-transportable, rapidly-deployable capability to intercept and destroy ballistic missiles inside or outside the atmosphere during their final, or terminal, phase of flight."
What Happens Next
It remains to be seen whether the enhanced AN/TPY-2 radar will be deployed at overseas locations. The U.S. military has stationed earlier versions of the missile defense radar in Turkey, Israel, Japan, South Korea and Guam, according to the specialist outlet The War Zone.
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