Ukraine receives new Patriot missiles from partners, Zelenskyy says
Volodymyr Zelenskyy (photo: president.gov.ua)
Ukraine recently received a new batch of missiles for Patriot air defense systems capable of intercepting Russian ballistic missiles, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, Suspilne reports.
The head of state emphasized that despite high global demand for missiles for air defense systems, Ukraine is also receiving new batches of scarce weapons.
"As of now, partners are delivering missiles for Patriots. In particular, a new batch arrived in recent days. And we continue to work with all partners so that air defense is in place," the Ukrainian president said.
Missile production does not keep up with demand
Earlier, the American defense company Lockheed Martin agreed to increase production of missiles for Patriot systems almost threefold — from about 600 to around 2,000 units per year. However, experts note that it will take several years to fully ramp up production.
Before the conflicts in Europe and the Middle East, the United States produced about 270 such missiles annually, which is significantly less than current needs.
Global shortage of Patriot air defense missiles
In the first days of the conflict in the Middle East, Israel and its allies used about 800 Patriot missiles to intercept Iranian targets. For comparison, Ukraine has received approximately 600 such missiles during the entire full-scale war.
The Pentagon has already appealed to the White House to approve a request to Congress for more than 200 billion dollars to finance the war against Iran. This indicates the scale of the US needs and the rapid growth of spending on the campaign.
According to estimates, in just the first 12 days of the operation in Iran, the United States used up stocks of precision weapons that had been accumulated for years. Their replenishment will require significant time and will be very expensive.
