The US Department of Defense (DoD) currently has only 25 percent of the interceptors needed for all its military plans, with conflicts in the Middle East contributing to the shortage.
According to a Tuesday report by the Guardian newspaper, the US military’s arsenal of missiles for the MIM-104 Patriot air defense system is “so low” that there are concerns “it could jeopardize potential US military operations.”
It would be easy to point fingers, which officials have done, at Ukraine and suggest that the American stockpiles are depleted due to the military aid packages sent by the Biden administration. However, the UK’s paper of record warned that the conflicts in the Middle East are where the United States has significantly burned through its munitions.
The US Department of Defense (DoD) has only 25 percent of the ordnance needed for “all of the Pentagon’s military plans,” according to The Guardian. However, despite the shortage, President Donald Trump has remained open to the idea of supplying Ukraine with additional air defense systems as Russia ramps up its drone and missile strikes. Sources have claimed that the MIM-104 Patriot Air Defense System has a 95 percent “intercept success rate” in its more than 250 combat engagements; however, this number cannot be independently verified.
How Many Patriot Systems Does the United States Have?
The MIM-104 Patriot was developed in the 1970s to counter Soviet missiles. The mobile interceptor surface-to-air missile (SAM) system is a long-range, all-weather, all-altitude platform that is more than a single unit. The Center for Strategic and International Studies’ (CSIS) Missile Threat Division explains that the “typical Patriot battery includes a radar set, an engagement control system, power generation and other support vehicles,” as well as “several launch stations.”
The various components of the Patriot have been steadily upgraded, including its advanced aerial interceptor missile and high-performance radar systems.
Despite being designed for use against Soviet ballistic missiles, the MIM-104 gained fame during the Persian Gulf War, with the claimed engagement of over forty Iraqi Scud missiles. More recently, Ukraine has employed the Patriot system to shoot down Russian ballistic missiles, including the air-launched Kinzhal. Approximately 1,100 have been produced for the US military, with an additional 200 units being exported to various allied and partner nations, including Germany, Israel, Japan, and South Korea.
More than 10,000 interceptor missiles have been produced, but as the recent engagements in the Middle East have shown, the ordnance can be used up at an alarming rate. Before Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, around 500 PAC-3 interceptors were being manufactured annually, with efforts underway to increase that to 650 units or more.
Yet experts have warned that ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East are outpacing production. That, in turn, could impact Washington’s ability to supply the MIM-104 and accompanying ordnance to Kyiv.
“Getting a Patriot missile isn’t like going to Walmart and picking 10 off the shelf and going home,” a Trump advisor told Axios.
Berlin has also offered to buy Patriot batteries to send to Ukraine. The White House has suggested that Germany should sell one of its batteries to Ukraine, with the United States and its European allies helping to split the cost of the purchase.
President Trump Has Agreed to Send More Patriots to Ukraine
Since returning to the White House, President Donald Trump has been critical of supplying weapons to Ukraine. Yet there has been speculation that he is more open to providing the Patriot to Kyiv, as it is essentially a defensive weapons platform.
Trump’s change of heart also comes as Russia has intensified its attacks on Ukrainian cities and critical infrastructure, even as Kyiv has shown a willingness to go to the negotiating table.
The issue is that the United States may simply not have any MIM-104 Patriots to spare, and even if the launchers can be supplied, there is the issue of that ordnance. It is just the latest “shell shortage” that the US military has faced since the Ukraine war began.
Beyond the production capacity, there are also significant costs associated with manufacturing air defense weapons. The Patriot may be one of the best air defense systems in service, but it is not cheap to operate. Even with a 95 percent success rate, firing the anti-ballistic missile missiles is a costly endeavor.
About the Author: Peter Suciu
Peter Suciu has contributed over 3,200 published pieces to more than four dozen magazines and websites over a thirty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. He is based in Michigan. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: [email protected].
Image: Wikimedia Commons.
