A key U.S. Radar system, the advanced AN/TPY-2, has been destroyed in a recent Iranian attack on a base in Jordan, according to a report by Bloomberg. The system, valued at an estimated $300 million, is a critical component of the THAAD missile defense batteries designed to intercept ballistic missiles in the upper layers of the atmosphere. The incident highlights the increasing strain on air defense systems in the region amid escalating tensions.
Jordanian authorities previously reported intercepting two Iranian attacks on February 28th and March 3rd, but one managed to strike the costly equipment. As Tom Karako, an expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), explained, “These are scarce strategic assets, and their loss is a significant blow.”
The loss of the radar is particularly concerning given that the United States maintains only eight THAAD batteries worldwide, strategically deployed in locations such as South Korea and Guam. Each battery, costing approximately $1 billion, consists of 90 soldiers, six launchers, 48 interceptors manufactured by Lockheed Martin at $13 million per unit, and a single AN/TPY-2 radar.
With this radar out of service, the responsibility for intercepting ballistic missiles will fall to Patriot systems, which have a shorter range and are already facing a worrying shortage of PAC-3 missiles. This is not the first such incident; researchers at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies in Monterey, California, previously documented damage to an AN/FPS-132 early warning radar in Qatar during another Iranian attack.
Prior to this, multiple media outlets cited senior Pentagon officials stating that the United States lacks effective means to counter Iranian-made drones, and is being forced to leverage interceptors costing millions of dollars each, depleting its reserves. The development underscores growing regional instability and the challenges of defending against increasingly sophisticated attacks.
(RT)
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