There were already Patriots and THAAD in the Gulf according to reports over the years. Although it wasn’t clear if some of them had been moved.
The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Milius (DDG-69), deployed to the US 7th Fleet area of operations, conducts underway operations, at an undisclosed location in South China Sea, in this handout picture released on April 10, 2023.(photo credit: US NAVY/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS)BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
