On April 18, the German government reported on the transfer of the American Patriot anti-aircraft missile complex and its missiles to Ukraine. And although the spokesperson of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Yu.Ignat on security issues did not confirm or deny this information, there is every reason to hope that the Patriot is already in Ukraine.
The history of providing Patriot complexes to Ukraine is quite long. Even before the full-scale aggression of the russian federation, in December 2021, the Ukrainian authorities asked the USA for this. However, the administration of the White House did not dare to make deliveries due to fears that it could be perceived by russia as a provocation. Even after the massive russian attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure in the fall of 2022, the question of getting the Patriot was debatable. Only on December 21, the USA officially announced the decision to provide Patriot to Ukraine, and later – on January 5, 2023 – Germany joined the initiative of the White House.
Why did the acquisition of this system become a landmark event capable of raising the defense of the Ukrainian sky against barbaric russian attacks to a qualitatively new level?
Firstly, the American Patriot MIM-104 is significantly superior to other anti-aircraft systems in service with the Ukrainian army, in particular the outdated Soviet S-300 systems. Ukraine received the latest modernization of the Patriot air defense system – PAC-3, designed to intercept and destroy ballistic missiles at an altitude of up to 24 km, including Iskanders, hypersonic anti-aircraft missile “Kinjal” and hypersonic anti-ship missile “Zirkon”, with which the russian federation attacks Ukraine. In addition, the Patriot can simultaneously track up to 50 targets and hit 5 of them, including cruise missiles of the Kh-101, Kh-155, Kalibr type at a distance of 80 kilometers, bombers and transport aircraft – up to 180 kilometers.
One battery of Patriot PAC-3 can include up to 8 launchers, each of which is designed for 4 MIM-104 missiles of different types, GEM-T (missiles with advanced guidance) or 16 ERINT missiles (missile-interceptors of extended range). The air defense system can track targets at a speed of up to 2200 m/s at a distance of up to 180 km. The Patriot battery is connected to the AWACS system – a NATO program that provides control of the Alliance’s airspace and is connected to the Pentagon’s military satellites, which are able to “see” the launch of ballistic missiles even on the territory of russia.
Secondly, even at the stage of negotiations on Patriot deliveries, Ukraine agreed in a timely manner to prepare the military to work on such modern complexes. Therefore, on February 2, the accelerated training of Ukrainian air defense system operators in Germany began, which ended on the eve of their transfer to Ukraine. Similar training on Patriot systems was completed in January 2023 by a group of 65 Ukrainian soldiers at the American base of Fort Silly in the state of Oklahoma. The Ukrainians worked with the air defense control center, studied the operation of the launchers, including their loading with anti-aircraft missiles, and also mastered the operation of the tracking radar, which is part of the Patriot complex. Representatives of the Bundeswehr note that the Ukrainian military mastered this air defense system very quickly. According to them, this is due to the fact that they are highly motivated and most of them already have combat experience. The military also trained in maintenance and repair of this weapon system. Thus, the air defense of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was ready for the immediate high-quality use of air defense systems against russian missile attacks.
Thirdly, the delivery of German Patriot MIM-104 air defense systems is only the beginning of the fundamental re-equipment of the Air Defense Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Today, Ukraine’s total needs for air defense systems for reliable protection against russian ballistic missiles are estimated at at least 15-20 units, the supply of which has been promised by the USA and the Netherlands. In addition, Ukraine expects deliveries from the USA, Germany and France of medium-range NASAMS, Iris-T SLM and equipment to combat UAVs.
❗️The appearance of NATO Patriot MIM-104 air defense systems on the territory of Ukraine testifies to the psychological readiness of the West to supply Ukraine with more modern weapons, and not outdated models, as it was before. The transfer of the Patriot is a practical step towards the implementation of the decision of the defense ministers of the countries participating in the anti-russian coalition “Ramstein-6” in October 2022 to create an integrated air and missile defense system in Ukraine and to build an echelon defense against russian missiles. It is expected that the Patriot systems will be integrated into the general air defense system of Ukraine and will bring the anti-missile and anti-aircraft defense of our country to NATO level.
The Patriot air defense system will be used to repulse russian missile attacks on Ukrainian cities of millions, primarily Kyiv. It is also planned to use the system at advanced positions along the russian borders, which will provide an opportunity to intercept and destroy ballistic missiles at the launch stage from the territory of russia.
