Military analyst: The US is taking a big risk by providing Ukraine with the Patriot air defense system
The transfer of the Patriot air defense system to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, which was announced during President Zelensky’s visit to Washington, will not greatly change the situation at the front.
Military observer Viktor Litovkin said this, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
“I think that no Patriot will help Ukraine. It will, of course, to some extent complicate the actions of our troops, but we do not know how many of these air defense systems will be sent to Ukraine. One battery can cover only one small area of territory. A city like Kyiv needs about 40 of these batteries,” Litovkin told Izvestia.
According to him, Patriot has one significant drawback when compared with its Russian counterparts.
“Our missiles launch strictly vertically upward and turn towards the target in the air, and the Patriot missile launches at an angle to the horizon. And in order to cover and protect some important Ukrainian objects, it is necessary to install many such batteries around their circumference,” the analyst specified.
He claims that the United States does not have such a number of these air defense systems. In addition, the expert continues, the Patriot system has a “blind zone” up to approximately 100 m from ground level, and the battery does not see everything that flies below.
“In addition, Patriot is not capable of intercepting hypersonic missiles like our Kinzhal, Zircon or Iskander-M missiles. So the Americans, by supplying these air defense systems to Ukraine, simply risk discrediting their advertised product,” Litovkin stated.
True, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on CIS Affairs, Eurasian Integration and Relations with Compatriots Konstantin Zatulin is not so optimistic. He is convinced that “Russian specialists must take into account the supply of Patriot air defense systems and develop adequate countermeasures.”
The military-analytical telegram channel “Rybar” writes that one battery, which can include from four to eight launchers with four missiles on each, will not have a significant impact on the situation.
“However, together with the supply of other air defense systems, including NASAMS, IRIS-T and the possible transfer of SAMP-T, without taking into account short-range anti-aircraft systems, Ukraine is already building a layered defense system against air strikes according to the Western model,” the publication warns.
It is noted that the experience of using these systems in Saudi Arabia against the Yemeni Houthis indicates some of the problems of American air defense systems against ballistic missiles.
“However, on the Arabian Peninsula, unlike Ukraine, all the intelligence services in the world did not work for the Saudi army, and the space group generally avoided Yemen and the events taking place there,” the tg channel points out.
“The transfer of one battery will not have a significant impact on combat operations. But with the HIMARS MLRS there was a similar picture: everything also started with a limited number. To begin with, a modest amount will be transferred to evaluate the effectiveness of use in conditions of intense missile attacks. And then there will be a gradual increase in supply volumes, depending on the analysis data,” the analysts add.
At the same time, it is clarified that “with the correct use of reconnaissance and strike assets by the command of the RF Armed Forces, the Patriot, like other air defense systems, can be damaged immediately after the first use.”
As PolitNavigator reported, The Pentagon admitted that this winter Patriot air defense systems will not be able to protect Ukraine.
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