US President Donald Trump on Sunday announced that Ukraine will receive Patriot missile systems as part of a new American military aid package, a move warmly welcomed in Kyiv as it faces relentless Russian drone and missile attacks.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly requested more Patriot systems in recent weeks, warning that Russia’s intensified nightly bombardments are meant to terrorise cities and towns.However, Trump did not specify how many Patriot missile systems Ukraine would receive, when they would arrive or who would provide them.
What are Patriot missile systems?
The Patriot missile system (short for Phased Array Tracking Radar for Intercept on Target) is the US Army’s primary missile defence system. It is designed to intercept short-range ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones at altitudes up to 15 kilometres and distances up to 35 kilometres, according to CNN.Last month, the system was credited with shooting down 13 of 14 Iranian missiles launched at the US Air Force’s Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.A Patriot battery includes six to eight missile launchers, each holding up to 16 interceptor missiles. It also has a phased-array radar, a control station, and a power unit. According to US military reports, around 90 personnel are assigned to operate a battery, but only three soldiers in the command centre are needed to run it during combat.
High cost and limited coverage:
Patriot systems are expensive. According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a full battery can cost over $1 billion, with each interceptor missile costing up to $4 million.This makes their use against cheap Russian drones problematic, as those can cost around $50,000 each, especially since Russia has been launching hundreds of drones during recent attacks.Analysts also note that a single Patriot battery can cover only about 100 to 200 square kilometres, depending on terrain and setup. Given Ukraine’s vast territory of over 630,000 square kilometres, Kyiv says it needs at least 10 new batteries to improve its protection.Ukraine has already received six Patriot batteries: two from the US, two from Germany, one from Romania and one jointly donated by Germany and the Netherlands.
Efforts to speed up delivery:
To speed up delivery, US officials said Patriot systems could be sent to Ukraine from European Nato allies and later replaced with new systems purchased from the United States.According to the “Military Balance 2025” report from the International Institute for Strategic Studies, six Nato allies, Germany, Greece, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania and Spain have Patriot batteries in their arsenals.Nato secretary general Mark Rutte said on Monday that countries including Germany, Finland, Denmark, Sweden and Norway could be potential suppliers of new military aid. US military leaders have raised concerns that there are not enough Patriot systems to meet all demands.General James Mingus, the Army’s vice chief of staff, recently described the Patriot force as the Army’s “most stressed force element.” He noted that the Patriot unit in Qatar had been deployed to the Middle East for 500 days.Retired US army general and former Nato Supreme Commander Wesley Clark told CNN that to have a real impact on the battlefield, military support must go beyond air defence systems.“If you want to really stop this, you’ve got to strike Russia and you’ve got to strike deep,” Clark said. “You have to shoot the archer, not just the arrows coming in.”