Army to conduct THAAD/Patriot training exercise on Tinian and Rota

The Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, battery assigned to Guam is deploying a THAAD Remote Launch package to Rota and Tinian to exercise emerging capabilities.

The package consists of one THAAD launcher along with one patriot launcher, and associated personnel and equipment, according to a press release from the 94th Army Air and Missile Defense Command.

In 2013, the DoD placed the THAAD was placed in Guam, specifically Andersen Air Force Base, in response to North Korean threats to the island.

THAAD/Patriot Remote Launch are recently developed capability that allows remote launches to operate while geographically separated from its Tactical Fire Control Center and radar array. This expands the 94th AAMDA area of defense and allows commanders greater flexibility in deploying the system.

The system will be deployed to the Military Leased Area in the CNMI mid-July. C-17 Globemaster III aircraft from the 15th Wing based out of JOINT Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii will move the equipment from And3ersen Air Force Base in Guam to Rota and Tinian islands.

According to the Department of Defense, this operation will allow the 94th AAMDC to gather valuable data and inform future deployments of Remote Launch packages throughout the Theater.

The THAAD is a transportable system that intercepts ballistic missiles during their final, or terminal, phase of flight. It incorporates an X-band radar, the AN/TPY-2, and a single-stage, hit-to-kill interceptor to defeat ballistic missiles inside or outside of the atmosphere, according to the CSIS Missile Defense Project.

THAAD occupies a middle tier in the United States’ Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS), covering a larger defended area than the Patriot while serving as an underlay for the exoatmospheric Aegis BMD and GMD systems. In flight tests, it has demonstrated capability against short-, medium-, and intermediate-range ballistic missiles.