Patriot air defense systems become operational in Ukraine
Europe, News April 26, 2023 1 Comment on Patriot air defense systems become operational in UkraineThe U.S.-made Patriot air defense system has entered combat services in Ukraine. An undisclosed number of Raytheon’s technology’s Patriot missile systems arrived in Ukraine earlier this month.
According to the spokesperson of the Ukrainian Air Force Yuriy Ihnat, the Patriot air defense system became operational on April 23, 2023. Patriot is one of the most advanced air defense weapons in the U.S. arsenal. Ihnat said that after the deployment of the Patriot system, “there will be results regarding Russian aircraft.”
Each Patriot battery has four to eight launchers designed for four missiles each and it is expected that it will significantly improve the defense of Ukrainian critical infrastructure and cities against Russia’s constant missile attacks.
One Patriot missile costs about $4 million while the launching setup costs around $10 million. Many analysts believe that using Patriots missiles to shoot down Russian Iranian-made cheap Kamikaze drones would not be feasible, hence, the delivery of the missile system is more of a statement of solidarity, rather than a practical advantage for Ukraine in the ongoing war.
According to Raytheon, the U.S.-based defense giant and manufacturer of the Patriot missile systems, it has a success rate of at least 70%. Raytheon also claims that the missile system has been involved in 150 intercepts of ballistic missiles since 2015.
Delivery of the Patriot missile system from the U.S. to Ukraine was carried out through Germany. Germany’s federal government listed a Patriot system as among the military items delivered within the past week to Ukraine. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock confirmed that the delivery had been carried out successfully, however, the number of delivered missiles remains unclear.
Patriots are often deployed as a battalion; however, it is highly unlikely that the U.S. delivered as many missiles to Ukraine to be deployed in the form of battalions. The Patriot has a more powerful radar that is better at discriminating targets than the Soviet-era S-300 system the Ukrainians have been using.
Ukrainian officials had repeatedly been asking the U.S. for the Patriot missiles. Reznikov said that he asked for Patriot systems when he visited the U.S. in August 2021, only five months after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine started.
Earlier in 2021, U.S. officials told Reznikov that it was impossible to deliver the system without proper training and ground preparedness. As many as 90 Ukrainian military personnel received extensive training for the U.S. forces before the missile systems could be delivered to Kyiv.
Separately on April 24, 2023, a group of 100 Ukrainian military personnel arrived in Norway to take part in a four-week training in military medicine, sharpshooting, and team leadership. This is the first such course that the Norwegian military is providing to the Ukrainian soldiers.
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[…] May, Ukraine’s air force claimed to have downed a Russian hypersonic missile over Kyiv using the newly acquired Patriot defense systems. It is one of the most advanced air defense weapons. One Patriot missile costs about $4 million […]