The United States deployed its Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system – known as THAAD – in South Korea in 2017.
The billion dollar system is intended to guard against missile threats from the nuclear-armed North.
It’s based in a former golf course 250 kilometers south of Seoul. THAAD is designed to intercept and destroy short and medium-range ballistic missiles during their final phase of flight.
-Once radar detects the incoming threat, the target is identified and engaged.
-Fire control and communications support are deployed.
-The THAAD interceptor is then fired from a truck-mounted launcher, which can carry up to eight interceptors.
-The interceptor is composed of a protective shroud, interceptor or ‘kill vehicle’ and booster. It uses kinetic energy to destroy the target.
-It has a range of 200 km and can reach an altitude of 150 kms.
China is strongly opposed to the deployment of the sophisticated missile defence system in South Korea, which it says upsets the regional security balance, in addition to weakening its own ballistic capabilities.
The US has previously deployed it in Guam to defend against regional missile threats. The United Arab Emirates are currently deploying their own THAAD battery, the first Gulf State to do so, as part of US efforts to forge a coordinated missile defense network against Iran.
Sources: AFP, Lockheed Martin
Videographics by Agence France Presse