Iron Dome vs Patriot vs THAAD: What Each Stops, and at What Cost
Iron Dome stops rockets for $40,000 to $100,000 a shot, Patriot hits aircraft and missiles, and THAAD kills ballistic missiles for about $12.7 million.
In this article
What is the difference between Iron Dome, Patriot and THAAD?
The first Iron Dome interceptor built entirely in the United States was handed to Israel this month at a plant in Camden, Arkansas, Defence Industry Europe reported. The same town builds Patriot’s PAC-3 and is gearing up to build THAAD, which makes it a good place to explain how the three differ.
They are layers, not rivals. Iron Dome stops short-range rockets, mortars and drones at up to about 70 km. Patriot is the lower tier of missile defence, hitting aircraft, cruise missiles and short- and medium-range ballistic missiles near their targets. THAAD is the upper tier, killing ballistic missiles in their final phase inside or just outside the atmosphere, at ranges reported at 150 to 200 km. The price per shot climbs with each layer, from tens of thousands of dollars to more than $12 million.
Key takeaways
Iron Dome cannot stop ballistic missiles, and THAAD would be wasted on rockets; each layer covers a different threat. Patriot’s PAC-3 MSE costs about $5.3 million in the US Army’s latest request and THAAD about $12.7 million, against estimates of $40,000 to $100,000 for Iron Dome’s Tamir. The real constraint in 2026 is stock: CSIS estimates that American Patriot and THAAD inventories have fallen by about two-thirds and more than a third respectively since the war with Iran began.
What is Iron Dome, and what does it stop?
Iron Dome, built by Israel’s Rafael, intercepts rockets, mortar and artillery shells and, since a 2021 upgrade, drones, at ranges of about 4 to 70 km, according to CSIS. Its radar works out where each rocket will land, and the system fires only at those heading for towns, letting the rest fall in open ground. A battery has three or four launchers with up to 20 Tamir interceptors each.
Israel says Iron Dome has stopped 90 per cent or more of the rockets it engaged in recent years, and Rafael claims more than 10,000 interceptions in 15 years. Those are the makers’ and the military’s figures; there is no independent audit. Iron Dome cannot handle ballistic missiles. In Israel that job belongs to David’s Sling and Arrow, which Silent Dossier compared in Iron Dome vs David’s Sling vs Arrow.
Analysis
Is Iron Dome better than Patriot?
They do different jobs. Patriot, built by Raytheon with Lockheed Martin’s PAC-3 interceptors, defends against aircraft, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles. The PAC-3 MSE destroys its target by hitting it; the older PAC-2 GEM-T uses a blast-fragmentation warhead. Ukraine used Patriot to make the first Kinzhal intercept over Kyiv in May 2023, and 18 countries operate it.
Firing a $5 million Patriot at a cheap rocket would be ruinous, and Iron Dome cannot reach a ballistic missile. That is why the US Army bought two Iron Dome batteries as an interim short-range defence, alongside Patriot rather than instead of it, and why the Marine Corps plans to field SkyHunter, the American version of the Tamir that the Camden plant will also build.
Analysis
Is THAAD better than Patriot?
THAAD is the higher layer, so the two work together. It hits short-, medium- and limited intermediate-range ballistic missiles in their final phase, inside or outside the atmosphere, with a reported engagement range of 150 to 200 km, the Congressional Research Service says. A battery has six launchers with eight interceptors each, an AN/TPY-2 radar and about 90 soldiers. THAAD engages missiles high up, and Patriot deals with anything that slips through lower down.
Its first known combat use came in January 2022, when the UAE shot down a Houthi ballistic missile. Saudi Arabia is buying seven batteries, the largest THAAD programme outside the United States, The National reported, and is the world’s second-largest Patriot operator.
Analysis
How much does each interceptor cost?
No official price is published for the Tamir; estimates run from about $40,000 to $100,000. A PAC-3 MSE costs about $5.3 million in the US Army’s 2027 budget request, The War Zone reported, and a THAAD interceptor about $12.7 million, according to a JINSA estimate cited by the Congressional Research Service.
The war with Iran made the cost a stock problem. CSIS estimates that American Patriot interceptors fell from about 2,330 before the war to between 759 and 827, and THAAD interceptors from 452 to between 234 and 278, AP reported; the Pentagon disputes the concern. Lockheed Martin has agreed a framework to raise THAAD production from 96 to 400 interceptors a year over seven years. Saudi Arabia has felt the shortage most directly, as Silent Dossier set out in Saudi Arabia Is Taking the Hits for Now.
The verdict, and what to watch
Asking which is best misses the point: a country facing rockets, drones and ballistic missiles needs all three layers, and the side that runs out of the right interceptor first loses the exchange. Watch how fast Camden turns out Tamirs, Patriot rounds and THAADs, when Saudi Arabia’s remaining THAAD batteries enter service, and the first tests of the next-generation PAC-3 Edge in 2027.
Follow Silent Dossier
New articles and corrections are posted on our official accounts.
Related
