Global military history is replete with cases where the loss or capture of a single missile or critical piece of equipment has led to the rapid erosion of a hard-won technological edge, an advantage that took years of research and billions of dollars to develop.
For instance, in the 1950s, the US had a clear and insurmountable edge in air-to-air combat due to its AIM-9 Sidewinder missile. This was the world’s first heat-seeking missile and gave the US a considerable advantage over the Soviet Union and China.
This US advantage in air combat was demonstrated during the Second Taiwan Strait Crisis in 1958, when the Taiwanese Air Force claimed nine ‘confirmed’ and two ‘probable’ kills against China’s PLA Air Force (PLAAF) with the help of AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles.
However, the Taiwanese victory came at a considerable cost for the US, as one of the Sidewinders that hit its target had failed to detonate.
The missile was found embedded inside the fuselage of a PLAAF MiG-17F. The Chinese engineers then removed this Sidewinder, disassembled it, and promptly rushed to the Soviets, who, until then, had not seen anything as refined and smaller as the technology that went into the AIM-9’s gyroscope.
“The Sidewinder missile was to us a university offering a course in missile construction technology, which has upgraded our engineering education and updated our approach to the production of future missiles,” Soviet engineer Gennadiy Sokolovskiy would later recount.
The Soviet engineers copied the missile’s infrared tracking, in-flight steering, and stability mechanisms to create their self-guided missile, the Vympel K-13 (NATO codename ‘AA-2 Atoll’).
Similarly, the 1966 defection of an Iraqi pilot to Israel with a brand-new Soviet MiG-21, the most advanced Soviet fighter of its time, helped the US develop countermeasures against this fighter jet.
During last year’s India-Pakistan War, Islamabad claimed to have shot down multiple Indian fighter jets with the help of China’s latest long-range air-to-air missile, the PL-15. However, in the repeat of the 1958 AIM-9 Sidewinder incident, one of the PL-15 missiles failed to detonate and was recovered by India largely intact, providing New Delhi with valuable insights into China’s missile technology.
Now, nearly seven decades after the AIM-9 Sidewinder incident, the US seems to have lost another crucial piece of military technology, which puts at risk Washington’s lead in anti-ballistic missile technology.
Earlier this week, an advanced imaging infrared seeker from a US-made THAAD anti-ballistic missile interceptor looked to have been recovered largely intact in Syria.
The recovery of a largely intact warhead and kinetic block from a THAAD missile interceptor could be a major intelligence loss, allowing US adversaries to gain valuable insights into THAAD’s capabilities and design features.
This could be concerning, as THAAD is the US’s latest and most advanced anti-ballistic missile air defense system, which shot down multiple Iranian ballistic missiles in the current war as well.
Besides, THAAD is expected to play a crucial air-defense role in any conflict in the Pacific, where two of seven US THAAD batteries are deployed: one in South Korea and one in Guam.
On April 6, videos started circulating on social media showing an intact THAAD seeker and other portions of the interceptor on the ground near the Syrian city of Suwayda.
Notably, Suwayda is some 25 miles north of the border with Jordan and around 55 miles to the east of Israel’s internationally recognized boundaries.
Currently, one THAAD battery is placed in Jordan and one in Israel.
As the name itself suggests, Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) is an advanced U.S. Army anti-ballistic missile system designed to intercept short, medium, and intermediate-range missiles in their terminal phase (descent) both inside and outside the atmosphere.
Utilizing “hit-to-kill” kinetic energy rather than explosives provides a crucial, mobile layer for defense networks.
In fact, THAAD is the only U.S. system designed to intercept targets outside and inside the atmosphere.
A THAAD battery is typically composed of approximately 90 soldiers, six truck-mounted launchers (each carrying eight interceptors, for a total of 48 missiles), one powerful AN/TPY-2 X-band radar capable of detecting and tracking ballistic threats at ranges up to 1,000 km, and a tactical fire control and communications system that integrates the entire unit for rapid engagement.
Each THAAD battery costs upwards of US$1 billion.
THAAD batteries first acquire a target with the help of its powerful AN/TPY-2 X-band radar, compute the speed and trajectory of the incoming ballistic missile, and then launch the interceptor to ‘hit and kill’ the threat.
After the launch, the ‘kill-vehicle’ of the interceptor separates from the rocket booster at the rear. The kill vehicle’s front section also carries the seeker.
This kill vehicle uses its infrared seeker to find and home in on the target missile.
Since infrared imaging employs a passive guidance method, it is immune to radiofrequency countermeasures, such as jamming or decoys that mimic the radar signature of a real missile.
THAAD is a ‘hit-to-kill’ interceptor that does not carry any explosive warhead but destroys the incoming missile by the sheer force of its kinetic energy. As such, the front part of the missile has no warhead but carries multiple small rocket motors that help the interceptor maneuver to its target in the final phase.
These rocket motors are collectively known as the Divert and Attitude Control System (DACS).
“The unique DACS provides two kinds of propulsion: one for attitude control and another for kill-vehicle maneuvering. The DACS uses six thrusters to provide roll, pitch, and yaw control for the interceptor. These thrusters work together to precisely stabilize the interceptor-seeker field of view for proper target visibility,” according to L3Harris, which supplies this component of the THAAD interceptor.
“The seeker’s target data are then converted into maneuvering or divert commands that actuate the other four DACS thrusters as required. The four divert thrusters provide short, forceful pulses to quickly and accurately position the THAAD kill vehicle for target intercept.”
“The DACS performs over a demanding range of temperatures, shock, and vibration-flight environments,” it added.
In the videos coming out of Syria, the entire front section of the kill vehicle is seen intact.
Under what circumstances the kill vehicle fell to the ground, largely intact, is not known. Nor is the fate of the debris known. However, it could have been removed by Syrian forces to study or to supply to foreign countries.
Gaining access to the interceptor’s seeker or its kill vehicle could give US adversaries crucial insights into the design features and capabilities of THAAD interceptors. This information could be a goldmine for developing new countermeasures that help the missiles dodge THAAD interceptors.
At the same time, it could help adversary countries reverse-engineer the THAAD AD system and develop their own analogs of THAAD.
Remember that in the 1950s, the Soviet Union engineer Gennadiy Sokolovskiy described the recovered US AIM-9 Sidewinder missile as “a university offering a course in missile construction technology.
Either way, it is a significant loss of intelligence and technology for the US. The THAAD interceptor’s intact first part could be a goldmine of information for countries adversarial to the US, such as China and Russia.
- Sumit Ahlawat has over a decade of experience in news media. He has worked with Press Trust of India, Times Now, Zee News, Economic Times, and Microsoft News. He holds a Master’s Degree in International Media and Modern History from the University of Sheffield, UK.
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