The President of Ukraine revealed the situation with Patriot missiles
Ukraine recently received a new batch of missiles for the Patriot air defense systems, which are capable of intercepting Russian ballistic missiles.
This was stated by the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, as reported by RBC-Ukraine, citing “Suspilne”.
Also read: Zelensky’s team explained the change in Russia’s tactics regarding “Shahed” attacks
The head of state emphasized that despite the high demand for missiles for air defense systems worldwide, Ukraine is also receiving new batches of this scarce weaponry.
“As of now, partners are supplying missiles for the ‘Patriots.’ In particular, a new batch arrived recently. And we continue to work with all partners to ensure air defense,” the President of Ukraine stated.
Production of missiles is lagging behind demand
It is worth noting that earlier, the American defense company Lockheed Martin agreed to nearly triple the production of missiles for the Patriot systems—from about 600 to around 2,000 units per year. However, experts point out that it will take several years to fully ramp up production.
Before the onset of conflicts in Europe and the Middle East, the U.S. produced about 270 such missiles annually, which is significantly less than current needs.
There is a global shortage of Patriot air defense missiles
Recall that in the early days of the conflict in the Middle East, Israel and its allies used about 800 Patriot missiles to intercept Iranian targets. In comparison, Ukraine has received approximately 600 such missiles throughout the entire full-scale war.
The Pentagon has already approached the White House with a request to coordinate a request to Congress for over $200 billion to fund the war against Iran. This indicates the scale of U.S. needs and the rapid increase in campaign expenditures.
According to estimates, in just the first 12 days of operations in Iran, the U.S. depleted stockpiles of precision weapons that had been accumulated over the years. Their replenishment will require significant time and will be very costly.
Source: rbc.ua +rel=”nofollow”
