Within days of Operation Epic Fury's launch, Iran began retaliating with ballistic missile salvos targeting US bases in Qatar, the UAE, and Bahrain, as well as Israeli cities. The US Army's Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system — THAAD — became the critical shield protecting coalition forces and Gulf allies from Iranian Shahab-3 and Emad medium-range ballistic missiles.
Pre-Positioned and Surging
The United States had maintained one THAAD battery in the UAE at Al Dhafra Air Base since 2013, and another had been deployed to Israel in late 2024 during the pre-conflict escalation. When Epic Fury commenced, the Pentagon immediately ordered two additional THAAD batteries to the region: one to Saudi Arabia's Prince Sultan Air Base and one to Qatar's Al Udeid Air Base, home of CENTCOM's Combined Air Operations Center.
Moving a THAAD battery is a major logistical operation. Each battery consists of six launcher vehicles (each carrying eight interceptors), the AN/TPY-2 radar, a fire control unit, and associated support equipment. The entire package requires multiple C-17 Globemaster III flights. The surge deployments were completed within 96 hours using pre-positioned equipment and around-the-clock airlift operations.
The AN/TPY-2: More Than a Radar
THAAD's AN/TPY-2 X-band radar is arguably more valuable than its interceptors. Operating in forward-based mode, the radar can detect ballistic missiles at ranges exceeding 1,000 km, tracking them from boost phase through midcourse. This early warning data feeds into the entire coalition missile defense network, giving Patriot batteries and Israeli Arrow systems additional seconds of warning — often the difference between a successful and failed intercept.
During Epic Fury, AN/TPY-2 radars in the UAE and Israel provided the first detection of Iranian missile launches, feeding tracking data through the Command, Control, Battle Management and Communications (C2BMC) network to every allied missile defense asset in the theater.
Combat Performance
Iran launched multiple ballistic missile salvos at coalition targets during the first weeks of Epic Fury. THAAD batteries engaged incoming Shahab-3 and Emad missiles with what the Pentagon described as a "high success rate." Specific engagement numbers remained classified, but the Department of Defense confirmed that no Iranian ballistic missile successfully struck a THAAD-defended target.
The layered defense concept proved its worth in practice. In at least one engagement, a THAAD battery fired at an incoming Emad missile at high altitude, with a Patriot PAC-3 battery positioned as backup. The THAAD interceptor achieved a kill, but the redundancy provided commanders with confidence even against salvos designed to saturate defenses.
Global Readiness Trade-offs
With only seven THAAD batteries in the US Army inventory, deploying four to the Middle East created significant gaps elsewhere:
- Korean Peninsula: THAAD coverage reduced, with North Korea's growing missile arsenal representing a persistent threat
- Guam: Planned THAAD augmentation delayed to prioritize Gulf deployments
- Continental US: Homeland missile defense relied entirely on the Ground-based Midcourse Defense system in Alaska and California
Pacific Command expressed concern about the reallocation, and the Joint Chiefs established a rotation plan to maintain minimum coverage in both theaters.
The strain on THAAD availability highlighted a long-standing concern: the US simply does not have enough missile defense assets to cover all potential theaters simultaneously. The conflict accelerated discussions about increasing THAAD production from the current rate of approximately one battery every two years.
Interceptor Supply
Each THAAD interceptor costs approximately $12 million, and the system's 48 interceptors per battery deplete quickly against sustained salvos. Lockheed Martin produces THAAD interceptors at a rate of roughly 48 per year — barely enough to reload a single battery. The Pentagon placed emergency orders and authorized Lockheed Martin to accelerate production, but meaningful increases in output would take 18-24 months.
To conserve interceptors, CENTCOM implemented strict engagement rules: THAAD was reserved for medium and intermediate-range ballistic missiles, while shorter-range threats were handled by Patriot. This tiered approach maximized the defensive value of limited interceptor stocks but required precise threat classification in the seconds between detection and engagement.
Lessons for Future Conflicts
THAAD's performance in Epic Fury validated decades of investment in ballistic missile defense, but the deployment also exposed structural vulnerabilities. Seven batteries are insufficient for a two-theater world. Interceptor production cannot sustain high-intensity operations. And the system's dependence on a single radar type creates a vulnerability that adversaries will study carefully. The conflict has already generated calls for an expanded THAAD fleet and accelerated development of next-generation hypersonic defense systems.
Allied Integration
THAAD deployment required close coordination with host nation air defense systems. The UAE already operated its own THAAD battery — the only foreign customer — and integrated its fire control with US systems for cooperative engagement. Saudi Arabia's Patriot batteries operated alongside THAAD under a combined air defense picture managed through CENTCOM's Integrated Air and Missile Defense framework.
Israel's integration posed unique challenges. The Israeli Air Defense Command operated its own multi-layered system — Arrow-3 for exo-atmospheric intercept, Arrow-2 for upper endoatmospheric, David's Sling for medium range, and Iron Dome for short range. THAAD filled a gap in Israel's defenses against medium-range ballistic missiles approaching from the east, complementing rather than duplicating existing Israeli capabilities. Data sharing between THAAD's AN/TPY-2 and Israel's Green Pine radar created a fused early warning picture that neither system could achieve independently.
The successful integration of US and allied missile defense systems under fire represented one of Epic Fury's most significant military achievements, demonstrating that years of joint exercises and interoperability investments had produced a genuinely integrated defensive capability.