The visit of the President of Ukraine to the United States of America was a historic event. During the meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyi, American colleague Joe Biden assured of stable support for Ukraine. And soon all Ukrainians saw the fruitful results of cooperation, because the Pentagon announced a new aid package, which includes the latest Patriot air defense system.

Many hopes are placed on this type of weaponry and, as the President of Ukraine himself said during his speech in Congress: “If your “Patriots” stop the Russian terror against our cities, it will allow Ukrainian patriots to fully work to protect our freedom.” Let’s get acquainted with the American MIM-104 Patriot and find out what this system is capable of.

History of creation

The Patriot anti-aircraft missile complex, contrary to public opinion about its novelty, began to be developed back in 1963. It was created as a replacement for the MIM-14 Nike-Hercules and the MIM-23 Hawk, which were responsible at the time for airspace protection at medium and high altitudes.

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The Patriot tests took quite a long time, because the complex entered service with the US Army only in 1982. Patriot is produced by Raytheon, one of the largest companies in the world, specializing in missile weapons, aviation and space technology. In addition to missiles, the company produces radars and satellite surveillance systems.

Although the Patriot was supposed to replace the previous air defense systems, new developments in the military industry made it necessary to quickly modernize the complex. Already in 1988, the manufacturer modified the system to provide the ability to work against tactical ballistic missiles.

This modification was named PAC-1 (Patriot Advanced Capability-1), and the latest version of the complex is known as PAC-3, and it is this one that has been redesigned to destroy tactical ballistic missiles. The chronology of modifications of the complex is as follows: the first system MIM-104A, MIM-104B (PAC-1), MIM-104C (PAC-2), MIM-104D (PAC-2-GEM) Guidance Enhancement Missile (GEM), MIM- 104F (PAC-3) entered service in 2001, PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement (MSE).

The manufacturer himself notes that the Patriot system is able to respond flexibly to the emergence of new threats. This is confirmed by the company’s plans, which prescribe systematic work on the modernization of the complex until 2048. Thus, the manufacturer tries to maintain the relevance of the weapon and its status as the most effective anti-aircraft defense.

Currently, Patriot is used by many countries and, according to the manufacturer, is the basis of integrated air and missile defense for 17 countries. According to The Military Balance 2022, the European operators of the system are Germany, Greece, the Netherlands, Romania, Spain and Sweden. Potential operator countries should be Poland and Switzerland, which signed an agreement on the purchase of systems in 2017 and 2018, respectively.

Elsewhere in the world, the Patriot is used by the forces of Israel, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar and Kuwait. Patriot systems were also purchased by Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.

Against the background of Russian aggression against Ukraine, the manufacturer of the Raytheon system agreed with the German company MBDA Deutschland to create a joint venture for the production of ammunition for the Patriot. In plans for the production of rockets for the needs of the German army, as well as European allies.

You can learn more about the system from the video:

System design

The MIM-104 Patriot belongs to the class of medium and long-range air defense systems, and also has combat experience. The best-known history of its use is in the Persian Gulf, but the system was also used in other combat conflicts. According to the manufacturer, since January 2015 Patriot systems have intercepted more than 150 ballistic missiles.

The design of the complex has a complex structure, which includes: AN/MPQ-53 radar system, M901 launchers, AN/MSQ-104 fire control station, power supply sources, means of communication and radio technical masking. There can be six or nine launchers, each of which is a platform for four launch containers.

Thanks to the modern radar, the Patriot is able to track more than a hundred targets and hit up to 8 targets simultaneously. Up to 90 military personnel are required to operate and maintain the Patriot battery. However, the Patriot system can be called modular and highly mobile, as it only takes one hour to deploy.

The system’s missiles are transported and launched from the M901 launcher, which can carry up to four PAC-2 missiles or sixteen PAC-3 missiles. In the standard version, the missiles are equipped with a TVM (track-via-missile) guidance system. The range of the missile is 70-80 km, and the maximum height is more than 24 km. The minimum flight time is less than nine seconds, and the maximum time is less than three and a half minutes.

The latest generation of Patriot launchers uses the Lockheed Martin PAC-3 missile. PAC-3 missiles increase the firepower of the Patriot system, because instead of four PAC-2 missiles, 16 PAC-3s can be installed per launcher. The missile is reloaded by an M985E1 truck with a crane on the back.

The Patriot is mounted on M860 semi-trailers towed by M983 HEMTTs. The Heavy Tactical High Mobility Truck (HEMTT) provides transport capabilities for replenishment of combat vehicles and weapon systems.

The Patriot control center performs four main operational functions: communications, command, radar surveillance, and missile guidance. The four functions combine to ensure coordinated system operation and integration with other air defense systems. For example, Patriot can work together with NASAMS and with IRIS-T in a single information field, exchanging data about the situation in real time.

Technical parameters of the Patriot system:

Main purpose, advantages and disadvantages

The main purpose of the complex is to protect specific objects – large administrative and industrial centers, naval and air bases. The new version of the PAC-3 specializes in the destruction of ballistic missiles and is able to protect against Russian Iskanders, Kinjalov (hypersonic aircraft missile), Tsirkonov (hypersonic anti-ship missile).

The Patriot PAC-3 is capable of hitting a target at a maximum speed of 1,600 meters per second. The height of defeat of ballistic targets is 15-25 km. However, PAC-3 must interact with a special orbital satellite to work, which provides data on the coordinates and flight path of the missile.

Also, this system is one of the most expensive in the world. According to various estimates, the Patriot complex costs more than a billion US dollars, and the cost of the missile is many times higher than the cost of a drone against which air defense can be used.

Other challenges that Ukraine faces during the Patriot transfer are integration into the air defense system. And it mostly consists of Soviet samples. And if this issue can be successfully resolved in view of the successful experience of other Western weapons, then the training of personnel to maintain and repair the systems can take months.

However, the Patriot system and the fact of its transfer will bring more benefits to Ukraine, even in a political sense. According to the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba, the decision of the President of the United States to transfer this type of air defense system motivates other Western partners to transfer the latest air defense systems to Ukraine.

And if the cost of the drone itself is much less than the Patriot missile, you need to take into account the damage if the drone hits a critical infrastructure object. The use of the latest air defense system deprives the enemy of perhaps the last lever of influence on Ukraine.

According to the media, Ukraine will receive one MIM-104 Patriot air defense system battery with ammunition for it. For its maintenance, military training will be conducted on the territory of a third country. According to the Minister of Defense of Ukraine Oleksiy Reznikov, Ukrainian soldiers are able to quickly learn to operate Patriot systems.

The minister notes that the Ukrainians have repeatedly proven their skill in mastering Western weapons. And in the conditions of war, perhaps the training time will be reduced to the necessary minimum.

Patriot differs from other systems with a short response time and rapid deployment, the ability to hit multiple targets simultaneously, and the ability to resist radio-electronic interference will help strengthen other air defense systems. Patriot will make it possible to create an echeloned air defense system that will work in the future to reliably protect the skies of Ukraine.