Patriot missiles that would have been enough for Ukraine for years were spent in the Middle East – Ignat
фото: Defense Express
The Patriot missiles used in the Middle East could last Ukraine for several more years. At the same time, the Ukrainian military has learned to use interceptors more economically and has changed the tactics of operating these systems.
This was stated by Yuriy Ignat, head of the communications department of the Air Force Command, in the RBC-Ukraine podcast .
According to Ignat, during the full-scale war, the Ukrainian military learned to use Patriot not only to protect specific objects, but also to ambush Russian aircraft. After an attack, the complex can quickly change position so that the enemy does not have time to strike back.
“For example, you can use Patriot not as a stationary complex, as the Americans keep it at airfields or bases, but make it, relatively speaking, “wandering”: set it up in an ambush, shoot down five planes and return unharmed,” he explained.
The Armed Forces of Ukraine have also learned to spend fewer missiles on destroying air targets. Ignat noted that Ukrainian calculations can launch one interceptor at one target. At the same time, in the Middle East, in some cases, up to eight missiles were used at once.
He explained that the Patriot has three operating modes: automatic, semi-automatic and manual. In automatic mode, the system can launch several interceptors at once. According to Ignat, due to the lack of combat experience in the Middle East, one Shahed or ballistic missile could sometimes use up the entire supply of missiles from the launcher.
“That’s why we’re in the crisis we’re in now, because what was spent in the Middle East would have been enough for us to have several more years of combat operations with Patriot systems,” Ignat said.
As a reminder, Ukraine has exhausted its reserves of interceptor missiles for American Patriot anti-aircraft missile systems , making it more vulnerable to Russian ballistic strikes.
By the way, Spain and Greece have significant stocks of Patriot interceptor missiles, the shelf life of which will soon expire. However, the countries are in no hurry to transfer them to Ukraine, despite the intensification of Russian attacks.
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