THAAD is a long-range, land-based theatre defence system. The easily transportable battery of weapons is designed to engage incoming tactical and theatre ballistic missiles out to 200 km and to intercept them as high as 150 km. The picture shows a THAAD interceptor launched from the Marshall Islands during a flight test in August 2019. (US Missile Defense Agency)

The US Forces Korea (USFK) and the Republic of Korea Army (RoKA)have conducted deployment training for the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) remote launcher.

According to a joint press release by the USFK and the RoKA, the THAAD remote launcher deployment training was conducted “for the first time”, as part of the bilateral South Korea-hosted Exercise ‘Freedom Shield’, which concluded on 23 March.

The normalisation of the THAAD operations and capabilities provided the USFK readiness to ensure continued resourcing of the unit, as well as an opportunity to modify the defence design by exercising remote launch options, the RoKA said.