Inside Ukraine's Patriot air defenses: How they work and can anything replace them
Photo: Patriot systems in the Ukrainian Armed Forces (Getty Images)
American Patriot air defense systems are capable of protecting Ukrainian airspace from aircraft, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles. Are there any alternatives to these systems, and what is their key advantage?
Read the RBC-Ukraine report to learn how the Patriot air defense system works, about its variants, and about systems that could replace it.
Patriot
The Patriot system is a mobile surface-to-air missile defense system developed by Raytheon Technologies. It is considered one of the most advanced air defense systems in the US arsenal and has been in service since the 1980s.
A typical battery includes radar and control systems, a power unit, launchers, and support vehicles. The system can intercept aircraft, tactical ballistic missiles, and cruise missiles.
Photo: Patriot systems (Getty Images)
How it works
In 2015, NATO stated that the system’s radar has a range of over 150 km. Although the Patriot was not originally designed to intercept hypersonic weapons, in May 2023, the US confirmed that Ukraine had used it to shoot down a Russian Kinzhal missile, which Moscow claims is hypersonic.
In general, the air defense system has different capabilities depending on the type of interceptor missile. For example, the first PAC-2 interceptor missile uses a fragmentation-explosive warhead that detonates near the target, whereas the PAC-3 family of missiles uses more precise technology to strike the target directly.
Over the past 10 years, the Patriot has intercepted more than 150 ballistic missiles in combat operations, according to Raytheon’s website.
Photo: Patriot systems (Getty Images)
Where Patriots are used, and which ones are in Ukraine
According to Raytheon, the company has built and delivered over 240 Patriot missile systems. In total, they have been delivered to 19 countries, including the United States, Germany, Poland, Ukraine, Japan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt.
According to the Center for Countering Dissinformation, Ukraine has received the latest upgrade of the Patriot air defense system, the PAC-3, designed to intercept and destroy ballistic missiles, including Iskanders, the hypersonic Kinzhal air-to-ground missile, and the hypersonic Zircon anti-ship missile, which Russia is using to attack Ukraine.
In addition, the Patriot can simultaneously track up to 50 targets and engage 5 of them, including cruise missiles such as the Kh-101, Kh-155, and Kalibr at a range of 80 kilometers, as well as bombers and transport aircraft at a range of up to 180 kilometers.
Photo: Patriot systems (Getty Images)
A single Patriot PAC-3 battery can include up to 8 launchers, each designed to carry 4 MIM-104 missiles of various types, GEM-T (missiles with enhanced guidance), or 16 ERINT missiles (extended-range interceptor missiles).
The air defense system can track targets traveling at speeds of up to 2,200 m/s at ranges of up to 180 km. The Patriot battery is integrated with the AWACS system, a NATO program that provides airspace control for the Alliance and is linked to the Pentagon’s military satellites, which are capable of detecting ballistic missile launches while they are still on Russian territory.
How much systems cost
According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a new Patriot battery costs over $1 billion, including $400 million for the system and $690 million for the missiles in the battery. According to CSIS, the cost of Patriot interceptor missiles is estimated at approximately $4 million per missile.
When Patriots arrived in Ukraine
The history of providing Ukraine with Patriot systems is quite long. Even before Russia’s full-scale invasion, in December 2021, Ukrainian authorities requested them from the US. However, the White House administration did not proceed with the deliveries due to concerns that this could be perceived by Russia as a provocation.
It was not until December 21, 2022, that the US officially announced its decision to provide Patriots to Ukraine, and later, on January 5, 2023, Germany joined the White House initiative.
Aviation expert Kostiantyn Kryvolap notes in a comment to RBC-Ukraine that the uniqueness of the Patriots for Ukraine lies in the fact that they are the only weapon with which the Armed Forces of Ukraine can intercept ballistic missiles and destroy cruise missiles at fairly long ranges.
"When we talk about intercepting ballistic weapons, we’re looking at a range of about 25–30 kilometers, but the Patriot can detect cruise missiles at a distance of 160 kilometers, and the missile can reach them at that range," Kryvolap notes.
Photo: Patriot systems (Getty Images)
Patriot alternatives
Kostiantyn Kryvolap also emphasizes that finding an alternative to the Patriot systems is quite difficult. While the SAMP-T system can still adequately handle the interception of cruise missiles, it performs much worse when it comes to intercepting ballistic missiles.
"There is also the David's Sling system. This is a joint development of the United States and Israel. In some respects, this system is even better than the Patriot system, yet it costs about three times less, and the missiles are three times cheaper," the analyst adds.
The US also has the ground-based THAAD anti-missile system for high-altitude exoatmospheric interception of ballistic missiles. According to various sources, the operational range of this radar system spans from 1,000 to 2,000 km.
Photo: Patriot systems (Getty Images)
At the same time, it is capable of intercepting ballistic missiles at a distance of up to 150 km. However, no more than 20 such systems have been produced in total, most of which are in service with the United States.
"Of all the systems listed, the Patriot is the least powerful, but it is the most mobile, which is particularly important given the limited number of such systems," adds Kryvolap.
As previously reported, Ukraine is facing a severe shortage of missiles for the Patriot, NASAMS, and IRIS-T air defense systems.
