Previous Year Question
What is Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), sometimes seen in the news?
An Israeli radar system
India’s indigenous anti-missile programme
An American anti-missile system
A defence collaboration between Japan and South Korea
Correct Answer: C
Detailed Solution
Terminal High Altitude Area Defense—THAAD is a mobile, land-based Ballistic Missile Defence system of the United States. It is designed to destroy short-range, medium-range and intermediate-range ballistic missiles during the terminal phase of their flight.
The terminal phase is the final stage in which a ballistic missile or its warhead descends towards its target or re-enters the atmosphere. THAAD can conduct interception both within the atmosphere and at limited altitudes outside it—in the endo-atmospheric and exo-atmospheric regions.
The THAAD interceptor does not use an explosive warhead to destroy its target. It employs the hit-to-kill or kinetic-energy technique, in which the interceptor directly collides with the incoming warhead at extremely high speed and destroys it.
The THAAD system consists of interceptor missiles, mobile launchers, the AN/TPY-2 high-resolution X-band radar and a fire-control and communication system. The radar detects an incoming ballistic missile, tracks its trajectory and provides the data required for interception.