THAAD, in first operational use, destroys midrange ballistic missile in Houthi attack

WASHINGTON — A multibillion-dollar missile defense system owned by the United Arab Emirates and developed by the U.S. military intercepted a ballistic missile on Monday during a deadly attack by Houthi militants in Abu Dhabi, marking the system’s first known use in a military operation, Defense News has learned.

The Terminal High Altitude Area Defense System , made by Lockheed Martin , took out the midrange ballistic missile used to attack an Emirati oil facility near Al-Dhafra Air Base, according to two sources granted anonymity because they are not authorized to speak about the UAE’s activities. The Emirati base hosts U.S. and French forces.

The attack, which used cruise missiles, ballistic missiles and drones, killed three civilians and wounded six others, UAE’s ambassador to the United States, Yousef Al Otaiba, said earlier in the week.

“Several attacks, a combination of cruise missiles, ballistic missiles and drones, targeted civilian sites in the UAE. Several were intercepted, a few of them [weren’t], and three innocent civilians unfortunately lost their lives,” Al Otaiba said at a virtual event sponsored by the Jewish Institute for National Security of America.

The Emirati Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The UAE was a key member of the Saudi-led coalition that entered Yemen’s civil war in 2015, after the Houthis had overrun Yemen’s capital of Sanaa the previous year and ousted the country’s president from power. Although the UAE has largely withdrawn forces from the conflict, it remains heavily involved in the war and supports local militias on the ground in Yemen.

U.S. Central Command on Friday confirmed “a potential inbound threat” had forced U.S. service members at Al-Dhafra into their bunkers, in a “heightened alert posture” for about 30 minutes Sunday night. Airmen were directed to keep their protective gear close for 24 hours afterwards.

“Everything was professional and disciplined. The ‘all clear’ was called at 9:27 p.m. local time,” said Capt. Bill Urban, a spokesman for the command. “There was no mission impact.”

Lockheed Martin declined to comment.

THAAD, which is designed to counter short-, medium- and long-range ballistic missiles, was initially developed in the 1990s. It struggled in early testing, but has had a consistent reliability track record in flight tests since Lockheed Martin in 2000 won the development contract to turn THAAD into a mobile tactical army fire unit.

By 2019, the Missile Defense Agency had demonstrated the capability for the THAAD system to remotely fire an interceptor following 16 consecutive successful intercept tests.

The U.S. has deployed THAAD throughout the world, including to Guam, Israel, South Korea and Japan. In 2017, Saudi Arabia agreed to buy THAAD in a deal thought to be worth up to $15 billion. The UAE was the first foreign customer for the system and trained its first units in 2015 and 2016.

The Army operates seven THAAD batteries, but has long had a requirement to field nine total. The MDA has lacked the funding to build the final two, but U.S. lawmakers added funding in the fiscal 2021 budget to build an eighth THAAD battery.

The Houthis have used drones and missiles to attack Saudi Arabia and oil targets in the Persian Gulf over the course of Yemen’s war, now in its eighth year. Monday’s attack was the UAE’s first acknowledgement of being hit by the Houthis. Several civilians have died in Saudi Arabia from cross-border Houthi attacks.

This week, Abu Dhabi asked the U.S. for help bolstering its defenses against missiles and drones and halting weapons from being transported to the Houthis, according to a statement the UAE’s Embassy in Washington posted to Twitter.

In a call Wednesday between Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Austin “underscored his unwavering support for the security and defense of UAE territory against all threats.” The Pentagon has since declined to provide specifics about the UAE’s request.

Abu Dhabi was also consulting with congressional gatekeepers on U.S. arms sales this week. The embassy said Al Otaiba met Wednesday with House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y.

Ahead of Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Robert Menendez’s meeting with Al Otaiba, Menendez said, “We’ll see what their request is. I certainly recognize some of the challenges they’re having.”

Congressional aides said lawmakers have generally been open to Abu Dhabi’s requests for weapons to defend against Houthi attacks, but Emirati officials are likely to face questions over the country’s growing ties to China and accusations its forces have intervened in Libya’s ongoing war.

U.S. officials would also have to consider the suitability and production schedules for the equipment Abu Dhabi is requesting, according to a Senate aide granted anonymity to talk about diplomatically sensitive arms sale talks. If the UAE is seeking Patriot missiles, there’s reportedly an interceptor shortage fueled by Houthi drone and rocket attacks against Saudi Arabia.

“The Saudis are using up their Patriots at a good clip, and these things, you don’t just pick them up at Walmart,” the aide said. “The Emiratis could be asking for things very appropriately, but before anything comes from it and arrives in country, it could be years.”

Gulf Arab states, as well as the U.S., U.N. experts and others, have previously accused Iran of supplying arms to the Houthis, a charge Tehran denies.

Bilal Saab, a former Pentagon official now at the Middle East Institute, said the Houthis’ use of missiles suggests Iranian involvement, even after diplomatic talks in December between Iranian and Emirati officials in Tehran.

”Clearly those talks were ineffective,” Saab said. “The very use of ballistic missiles signals to me that the Iranians knew about it, were on board or at least had a role.”

President Joe Biden said Wednesday his administration, following the strikes, is considering restoring the Houthis to the U.S. list of international terrorist organizations.

Al Otaiba had urged the move, and the Emirati Embassy welcomed it in a statement that said, “Case is clear — launching ballistic and cruise missiles against civilian targets, sustaining aggression, diverting aid from Yemeni people.”

Agnes Helou in Beirut and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Jen Judson is an award-winning journalist covering land warfare for Defense News. She has also worked for Politico and Inside Defense. She holds a Master of Science degree in journalism from Boston University and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Kenyon College.

Joe Gould was the senior Pentagon reporter for Defense News, covering the intersection of national security policy, politics and the defense industry. He had previously served as Congress reporter.

华盛顿——据《防务新闻》报道，阿联酋拥有的价值数十亿美元、由美国军方开发的导弹防御系统周一在阿布扎比胡塞武装分子发动的致命袭击中拦截了一枚弹道导弹，这标志着该系统首次在军事行动中使用。

据两名匿名消息人士透露，由洛克希德·马丁公司制造的末段高空区域防御系统（THADS）拦截了一枚袭击阿联酋位于达夫拉空军基地附近一处石油设施的中程弹道导弹。这两名消息人士因未获授权谈论阿联酋的行动而要求匿名。该阿联酋基地驻扎着美国和法国军队。

阿联酋驻美国大使优素福·奥泰巴本周早些时候表示，此次袭击使用了巡航导弹、弹道导弹和无人机，造成三名平民死亡，另有六人受伤。

“阿联酋境内发生多起袭击事件，袭击手段包括巡航导弹、弹道导弹和无人机，目标是民用目标。其中一些袭击被拦截，少数未能拦截，不幸的是，三名无辜平民丧生，”奥泰巴在美国犹太国家安全研究所主办的线上活动中说道。

阿联酋驻华盛顿大使馆尚未对此事作出回应。

阿联酋是沙特阿拉伯领导的联军的重要成员，该联军于2015年介入也门内战。此前一年，胡塞武装攻占也门首都萨那，并推翻了也门总统。尽管阿联酋已基本从冲突中撤军，但仍深度参与战争，并支持也门当地民兵组织。

美国中央司令部周五证实，由于“潜在的来袭威胁”，驻扎在阿布扎比达夫拉空军基地的美军人员于周日晚间进入掩体，并进入“高度戒备状态”，持续约30分钟。空军人员被指示在之后的24小时内将防护装备随身携带。

“一切都井然有序，纪律严明。当地时间晚上9点27分，解除警报。”指挥部发言人比尔·厄本上尉说，“任务没有受到影响。”

洛克希德·马丁公司拒绝置评。

THAAD系统旨在对抗短程、中程和远程弹道导弹，最初于20世纪90年代研制。它在早期测试中表现不佳，但自2000年洛克希德·马丁公司赢得将THAAD系统改造成机动战术陆军火力单元的开发合同以来，其在飞行测试中一直保持着可靠的记录。

到 2019 年，导弹防御局在连续 16 次拦截试验成功后，证明了 THAAD 系统具备远程发射拦截弹的能力。

美国已在全球范围内部署了“萨德”系统，包括关岛、以色列、韩国和日本。2017年，沙特阿拉伯同意购买“萨德”系统，据信交易金额高达150亿美元。阿联酋是该系统的首个外国客户，并于2015年和2016年对其首批部队进行了培训。

美国陆军目前拥有7套“萨德”反导系统，但长期以来一直需要部署9套。导弹防御局（MDA）一直缺乏资金建造最后两套系统，但美国国会在2021财年预算中增加了拨款，用于建造第八套“萨德”反导系统。

在也门战争持续八年期间，胡塞武装曾多次使用无人机和导弹袭击沙特阿拉伯和波斯湾的石油目标。周一的袭击是阿联酋首次承认遭到胡塞武装的袭击。沙特阿拉伯境内已有数名平民在胡塞武装的跨境袭击中丧生。

据阿联酋驻华盛顿大使馆在推特上发布的一份声明称，本周阿布扎比请求美国帮助加强其防御能力，以抵御导弹和无人机袭击，并阻止武器运往胡塞武装。

周三，阿布扎比王储穆罕默德·本·扎耶德·阿勒纳哈扬与美国国防部长劳埃德·奥斯汀通电话，奥斯汀“强调了他对阿联酋领土安全和防御一切威胁的坚定支持”。此后，五角大楼拒绝透露阿联酋请求的具体细节。

本周，阿布扎比也与美国国会的决策者就美国军售问题进行了磋商。大使馆表示，奥泰巴周三会见了众议院外交事务委员会主席格雷戈里·米克斯。

在参议院外交关系委员会主席罗伯特·梅嫩德斯与阿尔·奥泰巴会面之前，梅嫩德斯表示：“我们会看看他们的要求是什么。我当然理解他们面临的一些挑战。”

国会助理表示，议员们通常对阿布扎比提出的提供武器以抵御胡塞武装袭击的要求持开放态度，但阿联酋官员可能会面临有关该国与中国日益密切的关系以及其军队干预利比亚持续战争的指控的质询。

据一位因涉及外交敏感的军售谈判而要求匿名的参议院助理透露，美国官员还必须考虑阿布扎比所要求装备的适用性和生产进度。如果阿联酋寻求的是“爱国者”导弹，据报道，由于胡塞武装对沙特阿拉伯发动无人机和火箭弹袭击，导致拦截导弹短缺，因此阿联酋目前面临着拦截导弹短缺的问题。

“沙特人消耗爱国者导弹的速度很快，而且这种东西可不是在沃尔玛就能买到的，”这位助手说。“阿联酋人提出的要求或许合情合理，但从申请到物资运抵该国，可能需要数年时间。”

海湾阿拉伯国家以及美国、联合国专家和其他人士此前曾指责伊朗向胡塞武装提供武器，但德黑兰否认了这一指控。

曾任五角大楼官员、现任职于中东研究所的比拉尔·萨阿布表示，胡塞武装使用导弹表明伊朗参与其中，即便在去年 12 月伊朗和阿联酋官员在德黑兰举行外交会谈之后也是如此。

萨博说：“显然，那些会谈毫无成效。伊朗人使用弹道导弹本身就表明，他们知情、参与其中，或者至少扮演了某种角色。”

美国总统乔·拜登周三表示，在空袭发生后，他的政府正在考虑将胡塞武装重新列入美国的国际恐怖组织名单。

奥泰巴曾敦促采取这一行动，阿联酋大使馆在一份声明中对此表示欢迎，声明称：“情况很清楚——向平民目标发射弹道导弹和巡航导弹，持续​​侵略，转移对也门人民的援助。”

阿格尼斯·赫卢（Agnes Helou）在贝鲁特和美联社对本报道亦有贡献。

珍·贾德森是一位屡获殊荣的记者，为《防务新闻》报道陆地战争。她也曾为《政治报》和《内幕防务》工作。她拥有波士顿大学新闻学硕士学位和凯尼恩学院文学学士学位。

乔·古尔德是《防务新闻》的资深五角大楼记者，负责报道国家安全政策、政治和国防工业的交汇点。他此前曾担任国会记者。