America boosts Israel’s missile shield. What did it get in return?
IN THE EARLY hours of October 15th two American cargo planes landed at an air-force base in the Negev Desert. Mobile surface-to-air missile launchers trundled off the ramp and were soon on their way to a launch site in southern Israel, along with some 100 American soldiers to operate them. America’s latest deployment to a war in the Middle East had begun, just two days after President Joe Biden gave the order.
The deployment of the battery of THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defence) interceptors and its crew is a sign both of America’s continuing military support for Israel and of its hopes of stopping Binyamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, from triggering a full-blown regional war. The deployment appears to come in the wake of an understanding that Israel will calibrate its retaliation against Iran for its missile attack on October 1st, by refraining from striking oil facilities or Iran’s nuclear sites.
The immediate military purpose of the THAAD battery is to supplement Israel’s extensive missile-defence network in anticipation of another missile attack from Iran. “The THAAD isn’t a game changer,” says Brigadier General Ran Kochav, a former chief of Israel’s Air Defence Command. Israel’s existing missile-defence systems include the short-range Iron Dome, David’s Sling for intercepting mainly mid-range missiles and the Arrow interceptors designed for missiles launched from Iran, over 1,200km away. But it will provide another layer of defence by increasing the number of interceptors that can be used simultaneously to fend off another mass salvo of Iranian missiles.
That could alleviate growing Israeli concerns over a shortage of expensive interceptors. In the year since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7th 2023, more than 26,000 missiles, rockets and drones have been launched towards the country from Gaza, Lebanon, Iran, Yemen, Syria and Iraq. The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) claims that it managed to intercept nearly 90% of those heading for built-up areas. But that has put a heavy strain on the store of interceptor missiles, forcing the IDF to prioritise the defence of dense urban areas in central Israel while evacuating more remote bases before Iranian missiles hit. An extra American battery will allow the IDF to provide a higher level of defence to more parts of the country.
Though it marks the first on-the-ground deployment since the current war began, the system joins other American defences that are already protecting Israel. Its crew will use a permanent American radar installation in the Negev desert, capable of detecting incoming missiles launched thousands of kilometres away. American troops have been intercepting missiles on Israel’s behalf since October 19th 2023, when an American warship in the Red Sea shot down a barrage fired at Israel from Yemen by the Iran-backed Houthi militia. American ships and fighter-jets were also involved in intercepting the hundreds of Iranian missiles and drones fired at Israel on April 13th and October 1st.
Yet the timing of the deployment is significant for political as well as military reasons. Since Iran’s latest salvo against Israel of 181 ballistic missiles on October 1st, there has been a tense exchange between Israel and America over the nature of Israel’s expected retaliation. Mr Netanyahu has sought what he sees as a historic opportunity to strike Iran’s nuclear programme and economic infrastructure, including its oil-export facilities, in the hope of toppling the Islamic Republic’s regime. Mr Biden, though prepared to support Israel in a retaliatory strike on military targets, has been less eager to sanction such a move, which could escalate Israel’s conflict with Iran and trigger a global energy crisis just before America’s presidential election in November. And as civilian casualties mount in Lebanon, and violence and misery intensify in north Gaza, Mr Biden is not keen to underwrite Israeli fantasies about remaking the Middle East.
Israeli officials say that the deployment of the THAAD battery to Israel is a sign that Mr Netanyahu has accepted the president’s concerns and agreed, for now, to limit the scope of Israel’s imminent attack. One official called the deployment “golden handcuffs”. Once again, America is showing its support for Israel, in the hope that it can rein in Mr Netanyahu’s more reckless tendencies. ■
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