The United States assessed the chances of the THAAD anti-missile system to intercept Russian hypersonic weapons

American missile defense system (BMD) THAAD with a small probability will be used against Russian hypersonic weapons, as it has little chance of stopping Russian missiles. The National Interest (NI) columnist Brandon J. Weichert told The National Interest (NI) on December 10.

"The United States and its allies have only a handful of these important systems, and because of America's multiple defense commitments and chaotic defense industrial base, it is unlikely that THAAD will ever be tested against Russian hypersonic weapons," Weichert writes.

The expert notes that the THAAD system does not guarantee that it can stop Russian hypersonic weapons, so the United States cannot risk it.

According to The National Interest, the United States does not transfer THAAD missile defense system to Ukraine, as they fear that the system will be lost in the course of hostilities, and the Russian Federation forces will learn about its device and capabilities.

Commonwealth aid: Putin is ready to deploy Oreshnik in Belarus in 2025

The targets for the missile system will be determined by Minsk

Before that, on December 8, The National Interest magazine reported that <a href="https://iz.ru/1803805/2024-12-08/administratciiu-ssha-prizvali-deeskalirovat-konflikt-na-ukraine-iz-za-oreshnika\">the United States needs to go for de-escalation</a> of the Ukrainian conflict because of the Russian Oreshnik missile. As the piece notes, the United States can barely cope with the production of ammunition to supply the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) and cannot come close to Russia's capabilities in terms of the defense industrial complex.</p><p>On December 7, Russian Foreign Ministry head Sergey Lavrov said that Western experts are studying which military facilities of NATO countries <a href="https://iz.ru/1803646/2024-12-07/lavrov-zaiavil-o-popytkakh-zapada-proschitat-radius-porazheniia-oreshnika">would be within the kill radius of the "Oreshnik" system</a> if it were deployed in Belarus.</p><p>On the same day, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Belarusian Armed Forces Sergei Lagodyuk said that <a href="https://iz.ru/1803568/2024-12-07/v-belorussii-nazvali-reshenie-o-razmeshchenii-oreshnika-otvetom-na-shagi-ssha-i-germanii" target="_blank">the decision to deploy the Russian Oreshnik complex was made</a> against the backdrop of the position of <a href="https://iz.ru/tag/ssha" target="_blank">the United States</a> and Germany on the deployment of intermediate-range missiles in Europe.</p><p>About <a href="https://iz.ru/1794857/2024-11-21/putin-soobshchil-o-nanesenii-kombinirovannogo-udara-vs-rf-po-opk-ukrainy" target="_blank">testing in combat conditions</a> the Oreshnik ballistic missile, one of Russia's newest medium-range missile systems, Russian President <a href="https://iz.ru/tag/vladimir-putin" target="_blank">Vladimir Putin</a> said on Nov. 21. He emphasized that the move was in response to the escalation by Western countries in Ukraine. In the following days, the head of state clarified that Russia <a href="https://iz.ru/1795474/2024-11-22/putin-soobshchil-o-prodolzhenii-ispytanii-rakety-oreshnik-v-boevykh-usloviiakh" target="_blank">would <a href="https://iz.ru/1795474/2024-11-22/putin-soobshchil-o-prodolzhenii-ispytanii-rakety-oreshnik-v-boevykh-usloviiakh" target="_blank">continue these tests</a>, while <a href="https://iz.ru/1795485/2024-11-22/prezident-rf-soobshchil-o-reshenii-o-seriinom-proizvodstve-raket-oreshnik" target="_blank">a decision on the serial production</a> of missiles has already been made.</p><drupal-entity data-embedded-button="entity_browser_video_item" data-entity-embedded-display="view_mode:node.embed_default" data-entity-type="node" data-entity-uuuid="3f8b807a-5cd5-40c4-ac7e-1c8896c86d8d"></drupal-entity><p>Western countries have stepped up military and financial support for Ukraine amid Russia's special operation to protect <a href="https://iz.ru/tag/donbass">Donbass</a>, which began on February 24, 2022. The decision was made by the Russian president because of the worsening situation in the region due to increased shelling by Ukrainian forces.