The US missile defense system “Patriot” can be used against a wide range of airborne threats. Its main disadvantage: the high cost.
< p>Bundeswehr Patriot missile defense system
The Patriot system has a long history behind it. It was developed in the early 1960s, but received its current name and design a decade later. The US Armed Forces began deploying the system in the 1980s, which consists of a range of radars, command and control units, and various missile interception systems.
US arms manufacturer Raytheon manufactures the Patriot system and has improved it several times over time. According to the company, it plans to continue developing it until at least 2048.
In its current version, it can carry tactical missiles, cruise missiles (which fly parallel to the ground), drones, airplanes and “other Repel “threats” that Raytheon does not specify.
Range and Weaknesses
The flying objects that the Patriot system can intercept are also used by Russia against Ukraine. Hence Kiev's urgent desire to get Patriots. However, Russia also deploys smaller objects, such as mini-drones, which fly closer to the ground and are more difficult for the Patriot system to track and intercept.
An interceptor missile is launched
Its radar can detect up to 50 targets and engage five of them at once. Depending on the version, the interceptor missiles can reach a height of more than two kilometers and hit targets up to 160 kilometers away. However, multiple Patriot interceptors are often required to destroy a single incoming missile, so the system is expensive. According to the US think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies, around 90 soldiers are required to operate each unit.
Deployment in the Near and Middle East
The Patriot system was first used in 1991 during Operation Desert Storm to liberate Kuwait from Iraqi occupation. The defense system defended US troops and allies as well as inhabited areas in Israel against Iraqi Scud missiles. At that time, representatives of the USA and the manufacturing company Raytheon praised its effectiveness. External investigations later questioned this assessment.
Patriot missiles in the sky over Riyadh, Saudi Arabia , in January 1991
The deadliest failure was a Scud attack that killed 28 US soldiers at their barracks in Saudi Arabia when Patriot interceptor missiles failed to destroy the incoming missile. The system was later improved and used, for example, in the 2003 Iraq war.
Intercepting a drone is often not worthwhile
The greatest challenge for the Patriot anti-aircraft defense may not be with the to keep up with opposing military technology, it is the cost. For example, Poland's first Patriot procurement has reportedly cost 4.6 billion euros – more than a quarter of the country's total planned defense budget for 2023.
A single intercept test can take up to to cost $100 million. Many of the threats the Patriot system is designed to combat, such as drones, cost a fraction of that. To share the costs, some NATO allies agreed in October to pool their air defense needs, including the purchase of additional Patriot units.