The Pentagon has confirmed it is sending a high-altitude anti-missile system operated by US troops to Israel. Officials say the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (Thaad) battery will bolster Israeli air defences after Iran’s missile attack on the country earlier this month.

There are only nine active THAAD batteries in the world, according to its manufacturer, Lockheed Martin. Seven of them are assigned to the U.S. Army, operating in Guam and South Korea. The battery that the Biden administration has ordered to Israel presumably would be among those seven.

A military deployment to Israel is rare outside of drills. U.S. troops have aided Israel from warships and fighter jets when it came under Iranian attack, but they were outside the country.