Frankly, there are so few Patriots available that, even if the Americans acceded to Kyiv’s request, it would make little difference.
The recent Israel-Iran war has ended. With its end—on relatively unsatisfactory terms for all sides—the conflict in Ukraine is again slowly taking precedence both in the news cycle and in the minds of American policymakers. After a 24-hour delay caused by the Middle East crisis, President Donald Trump and his foreign policy team traveled to the NATO conference in The Hague, Netherlands, where Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also made an appearance—in a suit, no less!
Of course, Ukraine is not a member of NATO. However, Zelenskyy has regularly appeared at the bloc’s annual conference in order to meet with American and European leaders, rally support for Ukraine’s defense, and ask for further military aid.
This time around, the embattled Ukrainian leader needs American Patriot missile batteries. Before the conference, as the Israel-Iran war was raging, the Ukrainians had to put their requests on ice because the Americans needed Patriot missiles in the Middle East. Now that the Middle East is simmering down—at least for the time being—Kyiv’s representatives are once again pleading for more military aid.
Trump Has a Patriot Missile Problem
Of course, these systems are non-fungible. They will likely still be needed in the Middle East, or in the Indo-Pacific, as both China and North Korea appear to be ramping up their own belligerence against their neighbors. Notably, many of those neighbors are American treaty allies, which Ukraine is not.
Nevertheless, Kyiv’s demands are likely to take precedence.
President Trump appeared to say as much at a press conference in Warsaw, Poland after the NATO conference ended. A reporter of Ukrainian descent, whose husband is apparently fighting on the frontlines in Ukraine, asked about the chances that the president would hand over Patriot missile batteries to Ukraine.
Trump said of Ukraine and the Patriot missiles from the United States: “They do want to have [the Patriots] and we’re going to see if we can make some available. They’re very hard to get. We need them too. We were supplying them to Israel. And they’re very effective. One-hundred percent effective. Hard to believe how effective.”
However, the following day, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt staunchly refused to answer direct questions from the White House press corps about whether the Americans would, in fact, be handing the America’s finite arsenal of Patriot missile batteries over to the Ukrainians—especially as the Russians have proven capable of targeting warehouses in Ukraine where sensitive US military equipment is stored, and can destroy those vital US systems before Ukraine can even deploy them.
The Specs of the Patriot Missile
As for the Patriots themselves, Ukraine seeks these weapons to bolster their flagging air defenses against Russia’s relentless missile and drone barrages, which have targeted cities, infrastructure, and the power grid. Patriot missiles are highly effective, featuring an AN/MPQ-53 or -65 phased-array radar that tracks up to 100 targets at ranges over 93 miles, distinguishing between friendly and hostile launches.
Patriot missile batteries are truck-mounted, each holding four interceptors (PAC-2 or PAC-3 missiles). They possess command-and-control stations that coordinate the targeting of incoming enemies along with the missile launches.
The missiles used to intercept incoming drones and missiles are known as PAC-2 and PAC-3. The former uses proximity detonation to destroy targets, effective against aircraft and older missiles. The PAC-3, however, is a hit-to-kill interceptor optimized for ballistic missiles, with higher precision but fewer missiles per launcher.
A single Patriot battery costs around $1 billion, with each launcher costing around $10 million. PAC-3 interceptors cost around $4 million each. This high cost limits the Patriot system’s use to high-value targets, as using a $4 million missile against a $50,000 Iranian-made drone is extremely uneconomical.
As of May 2025, Ukraine has eight Patriot systems, with six operational and two under refurbishment. The United States, Germany, and the Netherlands have supplied batteries, with deliveries starting in April 2023. In January 2025, around 90 Patriot interceptor rockets from Israel (decommissioned by the IDF) were transferred to Ukraine via the United States, boosting Kyiv’s missile stocks.
The Patriot System Can’t Save Ukraine’s Air Defenses
The Zelenskyy government in Kyiv has called for at least seven additional Patriot systems to protect major cities like Kyiv and Kharkiv, which are subjected to intense Russian attacks. Such a request, however, is highly unlikely to be met. After all, in total, the United States only has around 14 Patriot batteries globally. Allies like Germany, Poland, and Greece have more, but are understandably reluctant to put their own national security at risk by donating theirs.
Raytheon is expanding production of the launchers, but demand will continue to outstrip supply for the foreseeable future. However, given Trump’s desire to gain the upper hand in negotiations with Russia, he might believe the best way to gain leverage in those meetings would be to use the Patriot missile deployments to Ukraine as part of the negotiations. Yet, this is unlikely to move the needle in Trump’s direction; Putin will not be so easily cowed by such an obvious attempt to achieve leverage over the Kremlin.
Frankly, there are so few Patriots available that, even if the Americans acceded to Kyiv’s request, it would make little difference. And not making a difference means there is no leverage to be gained. In fact, Putin might not even be interested any longer in a negotiated settlement since his armies are doing so well against the Ukrainians.
No amount of military aid will negate the massive advantages Russia has amassed over the last three years of fighting. Only peaceful negotiations can save Ukraine from Russia’s wrath. But the country’s leaders have yet to realize this—and the hour is late.
About the Author: Brandon J. Weichert
Brandon J. Weichert, a Senior National Security Editor at The National Interest as well as a contributor at Popular Mechanics, who consults regularly with various government institutions and private organizations on geopolitical issues. Weichert’s writings have appeared in multiple publications, including the Washington Times, National Review, The American Spectator, MSN, the Asia Times, and countless others. His books include Winning Space: How America Remains a Superpower, Biohacked: China’s Race to Control Life, and The Shadow War: Iran’s Quest for Supremacy. His newest book, A Disaster of Our Own Making: How the West Lost Ukraine is available for purchase wherever books are sold. He can be followed via Twitter @WeTheBrandon.
Image: Shutterstock / Mike Mareen.
