1. What’s the Patriot missile system?
Together with missiles, a Patriot battery consists of radars and management stations to establish, observe and goal enemy weapons, missile launchers and help autos. Lockheed Martin Corp. manufactures the missiles, whereas Raytheon Applied sciences Corp. makes the radar and ground-control parts of the system. The identify Patriot is an acronym for Phased Array Monitoring Radar to Intercept on Goal.
Planning for what would change into the Patriot system started within the early Nineteen Sixties. Since its preliminary fielding within the Nineteen Eighties, the Patriot system has undergone important upgrades, from extra exact radars to extra deadly missiles. The system was deployed to Europe and used within the 1990-91 Gulf Battle in Iraq. Globally, Patriot programs have intercepted greater than 150 ballistic missiles in fight since January 2015, in keeping with Raytheon. Along with the US, 16 nations have bought or deployed the Patriot, which is used within the North Atlantic Treaty Group’s air defenses. The US Military has 15 Patriot battalions, a few of which had been deployed to Europe within the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
3. What’s the US giving Ukraine?
The US is planning to switch a single Patriot battery. A brand new battery prices an estimated $1 billion; used programs such because the one anticipated to be transferred to Ukraine might be valued at considerably much less.
4. How a lot will this assist?
That’s not clear. A single battery would supply safety in its neighborhood, such because the capital Kyiv, however fall properly wanting defending all of Ukraine. Ukraine has been pushing the worldwide neighborhood to bolster its air defenses and to supply stronger offensive weapons such because the Military Tactical Missile System, referred to as ATACMS, which has the vary to hit targets inside Russia. The US has rebuffed the ATACMS request, with officers saying they’re not enabling or encouraging Ukraine to strike targets in Russia. A restricted provide of Patriot tools would current Ukraine with powerful selections in prioritizing which areas to guard. However given the repute of Patriot missiles as greatest at school, some argue that the switch of even one Patriot battery may have a symbolic impact.
5. What’s Russia saying?
Russian International Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova stated that the deliberate switch of Patriots constitutes an escalation and would primarily make the US a celebration to the warfare. She repeated Moscow’s declare that “Western weapons equipped to Ukraine are legit targets for the Russian armed forces and that they are going to be both destroyed or seized.”
6. Will Ukraine be prepared to make use of it?
The Protection Division is anticipated to conduct coaching for Ukrainian forces outdoors the nation in anticipation of supply of the programs, in keeping with individuals with data of the plans. Based on the US Military, roughly 90 troopers are assigned to every Patriot battery. Coaching on varied parts of the Patriot system can take a number of months, although specialists point out that the timeline might be compressed for knowledgeable Ukrainian air defenders, who’re aware of non-US programs.
• An outline of the Patriot system by the Missile Protection Venture.
• An evaluation by Mark Cancian of the Heart for Strategic and Worldwide Research of the affect of the Patriot cargo on the warfare.
• The US Military Weapons Methods Handbook has a piece on the Patriot on web page 310.
• A PBS-Frontline documentary on the historical past of the Patriot missile system, relationship again to the Gulf Battle. The US Military offers a timeline of the early phases of Patriot improvement and deployment, from 1964 by means of 1995.
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