The pair of ballistic missiles launched on Sunday from Yemen, which sent hundreds of thousands of Israelis to shelters, were intercepted simultaneously by an Israeli Arrow missile and an American THAAD missile, evident from debris found after the interception in Hebron.
Last October, a THAAD battery arrived in Israel, transferred by the Biden administration to reinforce Israel's missile defense system following missile barrages from Iran — the largest ever launched.
The THAAD is the US equivalent of the Israeli Arrow system but differs significantly in design and operation. Both systems were developed after the 1991 Gulf War, when the Patriot system failed to intercept Iraqi Scud missiles.
The Patriot was originally developed as an anti-aircraft system and later converted to intercept ballistic missiles. Both the US and Israel realized, based on its performance during the war, that a dedicated system was needed for this purpose.
While Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) developed the Arrow 2 system using American funding provided to the Israeli Air Force, Lockheed Martin developed the THAAD for the US Army.
US-operated THAAD Air Defense System was activated to try and intercept the Yemeni Missile. Remains: https://t.co/BI1aeTmRl5 pic.twitter.com/gyqOfvDoHs
— MenchOsint (@MenchOsint) March 27, 2025
Although Arrow's development wasn't always smooth and the system experienced failures in tests, THAAD's development was slower due to more numerous failures. Consequently, Arrow was delivered to the Israeli Air Force in 1998 and entered service in 2000, while THAAD only entered service in 2008.
Although they are designed to operate against similar targets, both systems differ greatly in their method of operation and cost. Israelis developed a missile that hits near the target and destroys it with a stream of hot metal fragments, whereas the Americans insisted on "Hit to Kill"— a direct hit on the target.
This approach requires greater precision in tracking the target and maneuvering the missile but eliminates the need for a warhead. IAI used direct hits only with Arrow 3, which intercepts its target in space, where an explosion is meaningless, and only metal-to-metal contact can destroy the target. Both systems reach similarly extreme speeds of 9,000-10,000 km/h.
Additionally, the American system is lighter, allowing it to be transported by cargo planes to combat zones. The Arrow is heavier, as it was designed to protect Israel from fixed bases or while being towed by trucks to new sites. For the defense of US territory itself, other larger and even more expensive interceptors were developed to deal with intercontinental missiles from Russia and North Korea.
THAAD has been purchased by the UAE and Saudi Arabia
A dramatic difference between the two systems is the cost: each Arrow interceptor costs $2-3 million, compared to a THAAD interceptor costing about $12-15 million. This is one of the reasons THAAD has so far only been purchased by the UAE and Saudi Arabia, which can afford its costs. Germany, which evaluated THAAD against Arrow 3, chose the Israeli system.
The first operational interception by THAAD was carried out in January 2022 in the UAE when it was launched against a missile fired by the Houthis. THAAD doesn't provide Israel with any capabilities beyond those already offered by the Arrow system, but additional interception systems increase the Israeli Air Force's ability to intercept even larger barrages should more come from Iran.
The defense establishment has been training for several years in the joint operation of THAAD and the SM-3 missile system installed on American missile destroyers carrying the Aegis system. These systems are able to share targets and use each other's radars for enhanced effectiveness.
IAI is currently developing the next generations of the interception system — Arrow 4 and Arrow 5 — designed to counter new threats while reducing the cost of interceptors as much as possible to enable the purchase of greater quantities.
While the Iron Dome will be reinforced this year by the Magen Or laser system (both produced by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems), a laser powerful enough to intercept ballistic missiles is not expected in the foreseeable future. Therefore, Arrow and THAAD will remain the workhorses of Israel and the US in this field.
The US is considering using Arrow for the Golden Dome, the air defense system initiated by the Trump administration to protect US territory from significant missile attacks, similar to those that have targeted Israel and Ukraine in recent years.