The Patriot is the most advanced surface-to-air missile system in service across the globe.
The United States recently approved a potential sale of upgraded Patriot missile systems to Ukraine. As part of the $105 million proposal, Kyiv would be able to improve its existing air defense launchers to the newest configuration. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) announced that the State Department had greenlit the potential foreign military sale, which would certainly elevate the Eastern European nation’s defensive capacity. “The proposed sale will improve Ukraine’s ability to meet current and future threats by further equipping it to conduct self-defense and regional security missions with a more robust local sustainment capability,” the DSCA stated.
Widely considered to be the most advanced surface-to-air missile system (SAM) in service across the globe, the MIM-104 Patriot is arguably the best defensive asset in Kyiv’s current stockpile. The top-tier system is manufactured by US defense contractor Raytheon and functions as the foundation of integrated air and missile defense for 19 nations. The Patriot was developed during the Cold War in order to thwart the former Soviet Union’s advancing missile fleet. Initially, the Patriot concept (previously designated as the Army Air Defense System AADS-70s) was conceptualized to serve as a replacement for the US Army’s older Nike Hercules and Hawk systems. The resulting Patriot entered full-rate production by 1980 and officially entered service with the service two years later.
As detailed by the Missile Defense Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the Patriot system is composed of six primary components: missile, launcher, radar set, control station, power generator unit, and high-frequency antenna mast. The latest variant of the Patriot is capable of engaging incoming missiles, drones, and other projectiles at altitudes reaching up to 9.2 miles and over distances covering nearly 22 miles. “Patriot currently employs a single AN/MPQ-53, AN/MPQ-65, or AN/MPQ-65A radar set to detect and engage targets. Unlike other air defense systems, the Patriot radar is notable for combining surveillance, tracking, and engagement functions in one unit.”
As mentioned previously, the Patriot’s impressive specs and capabilities have made it a favorite on the export market. Specifically, the platform has been delivered to Germany, Japan, Israel, Saudi Arabia, the Netherlands, Taiwan, South Korea, Sweden, Bahrain, Poland, Qatar, Romania, Spain, and the United Arab Emirates over the years.
What Upgraded Patriots Mean for Ukraine
As part of the potential foreign military sale to Ukraine, which would upgrade its Patriot missile fleet, Kyiv’s M901 launchers would be upgraded to the latest M903 configuration. The new iteration would allow Ukraine to dispatch newer Patriot interceptors, like the PAC-3 and PAC-3 MSE. This flexibility would enable Kyiv to continue being able to launch the PAC-2 and GEM-T missiles that are compatible with the older M901 iteration simultaneously. Since Moscow’s massive drone and missile arsenal continues to wreak havoc on Ukrainian cities and critical infrastructure, additional Patriot capabilities will undoubtedly benefit Kyiv’s defensive efforts. This week alone, Moscow launched more than 450 drones and several dozen missiles toward Ukraine, resulting in 26 deaths and many more injuries. Until a lasting ceasefire takes hold, Russian forces are unlikely to reduce their barrages.
About the Author: Maya Carlin
Maya Carlin, national security writer with The National Interest, is an analyst with the Center for Security Policy and a former Anna Sobol Levy Fellow at IDC Herzliya in Israel. She has over 1,000 articles published over the last several years on various defense issues. Carlin has bylines in many publications, including The National Interest, Jerusalem Post, and Times of Israel. You can follow her on Twitter: @MayaCarlin.
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