US Forces Korea Says Held First THAAD Remote Launcher Deployment

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 24th March, 2023) The United States Forces Korea (USFK) said on Friday that it had conducted the first deployment training of a remote launcher of its Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defense system in South Korea as part of the Freedom Shield 23 military exercise.

"The deployment training of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense remote launcher was the first to be conducted in conjunction with the Freedom Shield 23 exercise," the USFK said in a press release.

The document also said that the THAAD forces' training "enhanced the units' combat readiness, combined defense posture within the Alliance, demonstrates the ironclad commitment to support and defend the ROK and further strengthens the security and stability on the Korean Peninsula.

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The remote launcher's deployment took place as part of the US's military upgrade program to integrate its THAAD and Patriot missile defense systems into a single program aimed at enhancing security operations, the press release read.

"Normalization of the THAAD operations and capabilities provides USFK greater readiness to ensure continued resourcing of the unit, as well as providing greater opportunity to modify the defense design by exercising remote launch options," it added.

The launch took place during the computer simulation-based Freedom Shield drills, which ran through March 23 under scenarios reflecting North Korea's nuclear and missile threats.