US said to have used some 25% of its THAAD interceptor missiles to protect Israel during Iran war

The United States used up about a quarter of its high-end THAAD interceptor missiles to help down missiles Iran launched at Israel during last month’s 12-day war, according to two sources familiar with the operation cited by CNN.

According to the report, US forces fired between 100 and 150 Terminal High Altitude Area Defense rockets, each of which costs roughly $12.7 million.

Meanwhile, the US produced just 11 THAAD interceptor rockets last year and is expected to produce 12 this year, CNN says.

The network also cites figures from the Jewish Institute for National Security of America, a Washington-based think tank, indicating that THAAD interceptors were responsible for about half the Iranian missiles downed during the war. The rest of the interceptions were via Israel’s own Arrow-2 and Arrow-3 interceptors system, according to the think tank.

Foreign media reports indicated during the war that Israel was running low on Arrow interceptors, with a US official cited by The Wall Street Journal saying Israel was weeks away from running out of Arrow-3 missiles. Israel denied the reports.

Iran launched over 500 ballistic missiles at Israel during the war last month, 201 of which were shot down, according to the JINSA.

The strikes killed 29 people and wounded over 3,000 in Israel, and also damaged 2,305 homes in 240 buildings — including two universities and a hospital — leaving over 13,000 Israelis displaced.