The THAAD defense system is one of the US military’s most powerful anti-missile weapons, capable of intercepting ballistic missiles at ranges of 150 to 200 kilometers (93 to 124 miles) and with a near-perfect success rate in testing.

There are only nine active THAAD batteries in the world, according to its manufacturer, Lockheed Martin. Seven of them are assigned to the U.S. Army, operating in Guam and South Korea. The battery that the Biden administration has ordered to Israel presumably would be among those seven.