US to send Patriot missiles to Ukraine: How will these help the war-torn nation?

As the war in Ukraine rages on, the United States has announced it will supply more Patriot missiles to Kyiv. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Friday (26 April) that the weapons will be a part of a new $6 billion military aid package.

More artillery ammunitions for the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS), counter-drone systems and air defence munitions are also a part of the package. However, the US will not dispatch Patriot systems for launching the missiles, as per a BBC report.

The military aid package, which is being funded through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI), is reportedly the largest to date.

“It’s not just Patriots that they [the Ukrainians] need, they need other types of systems and interceptors as well. I would caution us all in terms of making Patriot the silver bullet,” Austin said.

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This security assistance is a part of the $60 billion aid package signed into law by US President Joe Biden earlier this week.

What are these Patriot missiles? Let’s take a closer look.

The Patriot system

The Patriot is a surface-to-air guided missile system capable of targeting aircraft, cruise missiles and shorter-range ballistic missiles.

While it was developed as an anti-aircraft system, the newer variants of the Patriot can strike missiles, loitering munitions, and aircraft.

The MIM-104 Patriot (Phased Array Tracking Radar to Intercept On Target) missile system is the United States Army’s main air and missile defence system.

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Manufactured by US defence contractor Raytheon, it has been deployed in the US and allied countries including Germany, Greece, Israel, Japan, Kuwait, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Poland, Sweden, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Romania, Spain, and Taiwan.

According to the US army, the system consists of a phased array radar, a control station, computers and generators. One Patriot battery needs 90 troops to operate and maintain it.

The battery’s truck-mounted launching system has eight launchers that can hold up to four missile interceptors each, reported Associated Press (AP).

The advanced Patriot system has a Patriot missile and uses ground-based radar to survey, track and engage targets.

Besides the missile, the Patriot system launches missiles from the M901 launching station. According to howstuffworks.com, the stations include up to four launch canisters that can hold four different missiles, depending on the type. The launchers are about the size of a tractor-trailer rig. Each gets its power from the electric power plant (EPP) vehicle.

The Patriot system also carries the AN/MPQ-53 phased-array radar with a range of up to 100 km, the capacity to track up to 100 targets, and provide missile guidance data for up to nine missiles.

An interceptor missile for the Patriot system costs about $4 million per round and the launchers can be acquired for $10 million each, AP cited a CSIS report in 2022. Each Patriot battery costs around $1 billion.

Due to its costly nature, it is not feasible to use Patriot to shoot at every target.

History of Patriots in service 

The Patriot system was first operated in the 1991 Gulf War to shoot down incoming Iraqi Scud or Al-Hussein Missiles launched at Israel and Saudi Arabia. The US army, which was in charge of the Patriots, claimed an initial success rate of 80 per cent in Saudi Arabia and 50 per cent in Israel. Those claims were scaled back to 70 and 40 per cent.

The US deployed the Patriot missile again in 2003 during its invasion of Iraq. Since then, the Patriot system has been used by several US allies. In 2014, Israel used its Patriot GEM+ missiles to destroy two Hamas drones, two Syrian drones, and a Syrian Su-24.

In the Yemeni Civil War, Saudi Arabia and the UAE used Patriot systems to intercept Houthi rockets, missiles, and drones.

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How will the Patriots help Ukraine?

The Patriot system “is one of the most widely operated and reliable and proven air missile defence systems out there,” Tom Karako, director of the Missile Defense Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), had told AP in 2022.

It will help Ukraine bolster its air defences.

America’s announcement comes after Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy discussed Patriots early Friday with the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, a group of about 50 countries.

He said at least seven Patriot systems are required to protect Ukrainian cities. “We urgently need Patriot systems and missiles for them. This is what can and should save lives right now,” AP quoted him as saying.

A Patriot battery has a long firing range but can defend only a limited area, say experts. For example, it can protect a part of the city but not the entire city, as per AP.

The US-made Patriot missiles had reached Ukraine last April after America’s initial nod in late 2022.

Germany has also promised to send a Patriot air-defense system to Ukraine. Spain could supply some Patriot missiles but not an entire system.

Even though the system’s effectiveness is limited, Ukraine is in much need of extra arms to stall Russia’s steady gains on the battlefield as its own stocks of ammunition are depleted.

With inputs from agencies