The United States will deploy an advanced aerial defence system in Israel, the US Department of Defence confirmed on Sunday, amid anticipation of an Israeli retaliation for Iran’s rocket strikes on it earlier this month.

Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin approved the deployment of a THAAD battery and "associated crew of US military personnel to Israel to help bolster Israel's air defences following Iran's unprecedented attacks against Israel on April 13 and again on October 1," the Pentagon announced.

THAAD, or Terminal High Altitude Area Defence, is a mobile anti-ballistic missile.

The Pentagon said the THAAD Battery would “augment Israel's integrated air defence system. This action underscores the United States' ironclad commitment to the defence of Israel, and to defend Americans in Israel, from any further ballistic missile attacks by Iran.”

The US military deployed a THAAD battery, along with Patriot battalions, to bolster protections for American troops in the region late last year after the October 7 Hamas massacre.

The United States also sent a THAAD unit to Israel five years ago for "training and an integrated air defence exercise," according to the Pentagon. It also deployed the THAAD in Israel in 2021.

The manufacturer, Lockheed Martin, claims THAAD is the only US. system designed to intercept targets both inside and outside the atmosphere. It was developed following the 1991 Gulf War as a countermeasure for long and medium-range missiles.