US to Provide its Key Patriot Missile Defence System to Ukraine
US to Provide its Key Patriot Missile
Defence System to Ukraine
Why In News
The system is part of
$1.85 billion in assistance unveiled in parallel with a visit to Washington by
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Key Points
The United States is
finalizing plans to send the Patriot missile defense system to Ukraine. Ukraine
has asked its Western partners for air defenses, including U.S.-made Patriot
systems, to protect it from heavy Russian missile bombardment including against
its energy infrastructure.
The system is part of
$1.85 billion in assistance unveiled in parallel with a visit to Washington by
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The Patriot is
considered to be one of the most advanced U.S. air defense systems and is
usually in short supply, with allies around the world vying for it.
Ground-based air
defense systems such as Raytheon Technology Corp’s (RTX.N) Patriot are built to
intercept incoming missiles.
Patriot has been
proven effective in Saudi Arabia against Iranian-design ballistic missiles
fired from Yemen, and primary contractor Raytheon says the system has
intercepted more than 150 ballistic missiles in combat since 2015.
Russian Warning To The West:
Former Russian
President Dmitry Medvedev has warned NATO against providing Ukraine with
Patriot missile defenses, and it is likely Moscow will view the move as an
escalation.
The Pentagon says
Russia’s recent surge in missile strikes in Ukraine is partly designed to
exhaust Kyiv’s supplies of air defenses so it can dominate the skies above the
country. For that reason, the United States and its allies have been delivering
more air defenses for Kyiv, providing everything from Soviet-era systems to
more modern, Western ones.
For the United
States, this has included NASAMS air defense systems that the Pentagon says
have flawlessly intercepted Russian missiles in Ukraine.