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Missle Defense Systems by Country 2024

In today’s world, the threat of having a missile shot at your country is quite high. As such, many countries have developed and implemented missile defense systems to protect their people.

What Are Missile Defense Systems?

A missile defense system is any sort of technology or system that detects, intercepts or tracks attacking missiles. Since most developed countries have missile weapons options, these defense systems are vital to protecting the safety and security of the country. Today, many countries have these defense systems, including the United States, United Kingdom, China, France, India, Iran, Italy, Israel, Taiwan and Russia.

What Types of Missile Defense Systems are There?

There are different types of missile defense systems based on the type of missile they defend against, when in the trajectory the interception occurs, and whether or not the interception happens inside the atmosphere. Some common systems based on the type of missile they intercept include:

  1. Strategic: These systems travel long-range ICBM missiles and are found in Russia and the United States.

  2. Theater: These target medium-range missiles and are found in Israel, America, and Russia.

  3. Tactical: Both America and Russia have tactical systems that target tactical ballistic missiles.

Which Country Has the Best Option?

Currently, there are only five countries that can hit any part of the globe with a missile. These are Russia, the United States, China, Britain and France. North Korea is working to increase the range of its missiles but is not quite at global capacity. However, measuring missile defense is more challenging. Most countries have only tested these systems, not actually used them in a real scenario, and many countries are not transparent with their test data. Russia claims to have the strongest system, but it does not publish information on its tests. The United States is quite transparent about its tests when compared to other countries, but it also have few details available. Most likely, either Russia or the United States has the strongest defense, but the Russian systems are old and the United States has the most updated systems available.

  • Effectiveness rankings determined by Foreign Affairs Insights & Review.

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Country
Defense Systems Name
Algeria S-400 Triumph | HQ-9 (Hong Qi 9)
AzerbaijanBarak-8
BelarusS-400 Triumph
BulgariaS-300VM
China S-400 Triumph | HQ-9 (Hong Qi 9)
FinlandDavid’s Sling
FranceAster 30 SAMP/T
GermanyDavid’s Sling | MIM-104 Patriot | Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS)
GreeceS-300VM | MIM-104 Patriot
GuamTerminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD)
India S-400 Triumph | Barak-8
IranHQ-9 (Hong Qi 9)
IraqHQ-9 (Hong Qi 9)
IsraelDavid’s Sling | Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) | MIM-104 Patriot | Barak-8 | Iron Dome
ItalyAster 30 SAMP/T | Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS)
JapanTerminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) | MIM-104 Patriot
JordanMIM-104 Patriot
KuwaitMIM-104 Patriot
MoroccoMIM-104 Patriot | HQ-9 (Hong Qi 9)
NetherlandsMIM-104 Patriot
PakistanHQ-9 (Hong Qi 9)
PolandMIM-104 Patriot
QatarMIM-104 Patriot
RomaniaMIM-104 Patriot
RussiaS-400 Triumph | S-300VM
Saudi ArabiaTerminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) | MIM-104 Patriot
SingaporeAster 30 SAMP/T
South KoreaTerminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) | MIM-104 Patriot
SpainMIM-104 Patriot
SwedenMIM-104 Patriot
SwitzerlandMIM-104 Patriot
TaiwanMIM-104 Patriot
TurkeyS-400 Triumph
TurkmenistanHQ-9 (Hong Qi 9)
UkraineS-300VM | MIM-104 Patriot
United Arab EmiratesTerminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) | MIM-104 Patriot
United StatesTerminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) | MIM-104 Patriot | Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS) | Iron Dome
UzbekistanHQ-9 (Hong Qi 9)
showing: 38 rows

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Missile Defense System
World Effectiveness Rank
System Type
Max Range
Weight (Kg)
Length (Meters)
Additional Note
Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD)5Long-range Surface-to-air missile200Eight missiles by truck launcher unit
S-400 Triumph1Long-range surface-to-air missile systems400Four missiles in individual containers
S-300VM3Surface-to-air missile systems200- 9M83M/ME: 3,073 kg |- 9M82M/ME: 6,158 kg- 9M83M/ME: 8. 6 m |- 9M82M/ME: 10.5 m
Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS)8Eight missiles PAC-340312The launcher vehicle can be equipped with an armour cabin
MIM-104 Patriot4Long-range, all-altitude, all-weather air defense system.709005.8
Iron Dome10Air defense missile system against short-range artillery rockets7090320 container launchers each with one Tamir missile
HQ-9 (Hong Qi 9)6Medium-to-long range surface-to-air missile systems125Four missiles in an individual container
David’s Sling2Medium-to-long range air defense missile system3004004.5Interception range: 40 to 300 km (approximately 25 to 186 miles).
Barak-89Naval air defense missile system162754.5
Aster 30 SAMP/T7Long-range surface-to-air missile systems1004504.9

Missle Defense Systems by Country 2024

Which country has the best missile defense system?

Several countries have great missile defense systems, but it is believed that the country with the best system is Russia.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources