- Israel may transfer up to eight Patriot missile batteries to Ukraine.
- Israel is upgrading its air defense capabilities and is considering retiring its older Patriot batteries.
- Ukraine has long been keen to acquire more of the $1 billion U.S.-made Patriot systems.
The United States is in talks about the possible transfer of up to eight Patriot air defense batteries from Israel to Ukraine, which would be a major boost for Ukraine in its fight against Russian President Vladimir Putin's invading forces.
According to the Financial Times, no agreement has been reached yet, but the batteries are likely to be transferred from Israel to the US and then to Ukraine.
This will be a welcome moment for Ukraine, which has long hoped to acquire more of the $1 billion U.S.-made Patriot systems.
“Israeli Patriots will significantly expand Ukraine's air defense capabilities at a time when they are desperately needed,” said John Hardy, deputy director of the Russia program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
“Though these are older systems, Israel's significant number of interceptor missiles and these systems will help protect Ukraine's critical infrastructure and counter Russian jets that are attacking Ukrainian positions and towns with glide bombs,” he added.
This comes after the Israeli Air Force announced earlier this year that it would phase out its ageing Patriot fighter fleet and replace it with more advanced systems.
As Business Insider previously reported, Israel has not been satisfied with its Patriot system since watching it struggle in combat in 1991 when Iraqi Scud missiles were fired at Israeli cities.
Officials estimate that only one missile was shot down, or possibly none at all.
“Israel has long been looking for a more advanced, domestically-produced system to complement or replace Patriot, given not only its operational track record but also the supply chain required for Patriot,” Ryan Ball, senior Middle East and North Africa analyst at risk intelligence firm RANE, told BI.
“I think Israel considers the Patriot to be outdated and too expensive to maintain, given the breakthroughs the new system has demonstrated in this barrage,” Ball added.
However, Israel has not yet fully retired the Patriot systems as it continues to use them in its ongoing conflict with Hamas and would likely need them if all-out war with Lebanese militant group Hezbollah breaks out.
President Zelensky's Patriot Appeal
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has never hidden his desire to acquire more Patriot systems.
Zelenskiy told NATO allies in April that Ukraine needed at least seven Patriot or other advanced air defense systems to protect it from Russian attacks.
“We are saying directly: for defense we need seven more Patriot or similar air defense systems, this is the bare minimum. They will save many lives and can really make a difference,” Zelenskyy said.
“We have to bring Putin back to the ground and our skies have to be safe again. And that depends entirely on your choice – the choice of whether we are truly allies or not,” he added.
And the president seems to have had some good luck in recent months.
President Joe Biden approved the deployment of new Patriot missile systems to Ukraine earlier this month, The New York Times reported earlier, citing senior administration and military officials, marking the second U.S. deployment in the country.
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby also announced last week that the United States would prioritize deploying Patriot missiles to Ukraine over other countries, calling it a “difficult but necessary decision.”
Patriot Air Defense System
A 2023 Congressional Research Service report described the Patriot system as “an essential component of U.S. air and missile defense.”
One Patriot battery consists of six main parts: power plant, radar equipment, engagement control station, antenna mast group, launch station, and interceptor missiles.
The system works by using either the PAC-2 or PAC-3 missiles, the PAC-2 which explodes near the threat missile and the PAC-3 which attacks the warhead directly.
The first Patriot systems were used by the United States in the 1980s and later in the Gulf War to defend against Iraqi Scud missiles.
According to NATO, the system's radar has a range of more than 150 kilometers (about 93 miles) and the missiles can travel at speeds of up to 5,000 kilometers per hour (more than 3,100 miles per hour).
