Did Iran destroy US THAAD Radar System, worth USD 300 million? All you need to know

The war in the Middle East has continued to rage on, with neither side refusing to back down. Iran, although it has apologised to its neigbhours for recent attacks on them, has remained firm that it will not surrender. At the same time, US President Donald Trump has warned Iran of a huge attack and even hinted that the war will likely continue for three to four weeks. 

Amid all this, reports have emerged that Iran has destroyed the USD 300 million Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) radar system of the US. As per OSINT (Open Source Intelligence) reports, the radar system, which is used to detect ballistic missiles, was deployed at the Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan, when it was destroyed by Iran in the first week of the conflict.

Satellite photos and images are also going viral on micro-blogging website X (which was previously called Twitter) that showed the destroyed RTX Corp. AN/TPY-2 radar and support equipment that is used by the THAAD radar system. The images show several carters at the Muwaffaq Salti Air Base following the Iranian attack. However, India TV Digital cannot independently verify the reports. 

A significant loss to the US?

US officials have not confirmed the loss of the THAAD radar system in Jordan. As per the available information, the US operates around eight such systems world and each battery includes 1 AN/TPY-2 radar. If the reports are to be true, then this is going to be a huge loss for the US.

“If successful, an Iranian strike on a THAAD radar would mark one of Iran’s most successful attacks so far,” Ryan Brobst, deputy director of the Center on Military and Political Power at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, was quoted as saying by Bloomberg.

About the THAAD radar system

Also called the AN/TPY-2 Radar, the THAAD radar system has been designed by Lockheed Cooperation to detect, track, and guide interceptors against ballistic missiles. The radar system, which is mounted on a truck-based trailer, has a range up to 1,000 to 2,000 km. The system has the capability to simultaneously track hundreds of targets.

The US operates 12 AN/TPY-2 radars, and eight of them are integrated with THAAD batteries. They have been deployed in the Middle East, Japan, South Korea, Türkiye and Guam.