OVERVIEW:  The Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery is a road-transportable, long-range, high altitude ballistic missile defense unit using command guidance with an IIR seeker in the terminal phase.

DETAILS:  The THAAD was designed to provide theater-wide protection as part of a multilayer BMD architecture that includes other systems such as the PATRIOT missile system.  In such a system, THAAD acts as the upper tier defense against short-to-intermediate range ballistic missile threats. Lower tier ABM defense is provided by the PATRIOT missile system. 

THAAD is able to accept cues from Aegis, satellites, and other external sensors, including space-based sensors.  Once cued, the battery uses its X-band AN/TPY-2 to calculate a predicted intercept point.  This is provided to the missile before launch.  After launch, the missile receives in-flight updates via uplinks.  In the terminal phase, the hit-to-kill (HTK) vehicle separates from the missile and uses an onboard IIR sensor for terminal homing and a liquid-fueled thrust vectoring engine for terminal phase maneuvers.  


Specifications:

Maximum Acquisition Range: 	321 nm (595 km)
Maximum Tracking Range:		?? nm (??? km)
Engagement Envelope, range:	108 nm; 200 km (est)  
Engagement Envelope, altitude:	492,126 ft; 150,000 m
Max target speed: 		?? knots
Kill probability:		0.9 (using look-shoot-look)
Reload time:			30 minutes 
Reaction Time			?? seconds
Mobility:			road and air mobile

NOTES: IOC 2009.  The system is air transportable in a C-130. 
  

SOURCES: Jane's Land Warfare Platforms: Artillery & Air Defense, "THAAD", 05 August 2016; "Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) – Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance." Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance – Making the World a Safer Place. Accessed December 7, 2019. https://missiledefenseadvocacy.org/missile-defense-systems-2/missile-defense-systems/u-s-deployed-intercept-systems/terminal-high-altitude-area-defense-thaad/ ; "THAAD - Terminal High Altitude Area Defense." AeroWeb. Accessed December 7, 2019. http://www.fi-aeroweb.com/Defense/THAAD.html.