Patriot systems en route to Ukraine as NATO boosts defence aid

The United States will continue providing Ukraine with Patriot air defence systems and its allies. At the same time, additional SAMP/T, IRIS-T, NASAMS, MIM-23 HAWK, and Gepard anti-aircraft systems are set to reach the front. What are the capabilities of this weaponry?

Pentagon spokesperson Lt. Col. Charlie Dietz responded to the "New York Times" that none of the Patriots will come from Poland, although there were no changes in the force structure there. The magazine suggest that the US administration decided to give Ukraine a Patriot system used to protect American soldiers in Poland.

Patriot systems have proven highly influential during the war in Ukraine, and the defending army has been seeking additional deliveries for months. They can expect more since NATO countries have confirmed the delivery of five additional such anti-aircraft systems. They are expected to come from the USA, Germany, Romania, and the Netherlands, working with other countries to assemble an extra battery.

Patriot is a ground-to-air missile air and missile defence system the American company Raytheon produces. The system consists of several components, including launchers, a command post, and a phased-array radar for detecting targets.

With the help of Patriots, it is possible to combat enemy objects (including ballistic missiles) up to 160 kilometres away, moving at an altitude of up to 24 kilometres. The exact range depends on several factors, including the radar and launcher version, type of target, and missiles used. In the MIM-104 variants, missiles reach a speed of about Mach 3 after launching, but in the PAC-2 and PAC-3 variants, they can reach even Mach 5.

The SAMP/T anti-aircraft system promised by Italy should also significantly boost the Ukrainian army. It is a weapon developed through the collaboration of French and Italian defence companies and enjoys an excellent reputation. It relies on using Aster 15 and Aster 30 missiles, with ranges (also dependent on target type) of up to about 30 kilometres and up to about 100 kilometres, respectively.

Commenting on the NATO countries' declarations, Ukrainian Defence Express noted that "dozens of tactical air defence systems" will also reach the front. However, this is not about new commitments but a reminder of earlier obligations from allies. This might indicate forthcoming deliveries, which will also be a tangible benefit for Ukrainians, as the list includes NASAMS, MIM-23 HAWK, IRIS-T SLM, IRIS-T SLS, and Gepard air defence systems.

There is an interesting "mix" of modern weapons (NASAMS and IRIS-T) and much older ones (MIM-23 HAWK and Gepard). However, the example of MIM-23 HAWK shows that even equipment that has been retired in some armies can still perform well in modern armed conflict.

Ukrainian soldiers using the MIM-23 HAWK say it works very well, even against drones. This is interesting because this American medium-range anti-aircraft missile system was designed in the 1960s when its designers did not consider such targets. The range of the MIM-23 Hawk varies from 26 kilometres to 40 kilometres (depending on the system version, as later ones were modernised and had better performance).