The United States, Israel and Ukraine are in talks to provide Kiev forces with up to eight MIM-104 Patriot long-range air defense systems currently owned and used by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), the Financial Times reported on June 27, citing several unnamed sources familiar with the matter.
According to the report, the systems would likely be transferred from Israel to the U.S., and only then from there to Ukraine.
In April, Israel announced that it planned to phase out all of its Patriot systems within two months. The exact number of the country’s Patriot systems remains unknown.
The IDF designation for the Patriot system is “Yahalom” [diamond in Hebrew]. Israeli PAC-2 systems have been upgraded to the GEM+ standard which has better performance against tactical ballistic missiles, cruise missiles or warplanes in complement to the PAC-3.
Israel didn’t say what will happen to the retired system, but the Kiev regime has for months now been asking for more Patriots to bolster Ukrainian air defenses in the face of increasing Russian drone and missile attacks.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine needs 25 Patriots to cover the country, but Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said he is for now focused on securing just seven batteries to protect Ukraine’s largest cities.
Ukraine received last year two Patriot systems and two launchers from Germany and another system from the United States with two additional launchers donated by the Netherlands. The systems were a mix of PAC-2 and PAC-3. Most of these systems have been already damaged or destroyed by the Russian military.
In response to Ukrainian demands, Germany confirmed last month that it will supply a third Patriot system to Kiev forces. Around the same time, Spain said that it would provide additional missiles to Kiev forces.
President Biden also made the decision earlier this month to supply an additional Patriot system to Ukraine. Later, the U.S. announced that it will halt all open orders for Patriot missiles and redirect them to Kiev forces until its defense needs are met.
Moreover, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius announced that his country would deliver another 100 Patriot air defense missiles to Ukraine in an initiative with Denmark, the Netherlands and Norway. Romania also said that it will provide one of its newly-aquried systems to Kiev forces.
A Patriot system costs around $1,1 billion. A single PAC-3 missile costs some $7 million and a PAC-2 missile could cost up to $4 million, depending on the version. Despite the high cost, the U.S. is likely willing to pay Israel for the systems if it agrees to indirectly supply them to Ukraine.
Such a move would be extremely dangerous for Israel as Russia will likely respond by bolstering the defensive and offinsive capablities of the country’s main foes in the Middle East, Iran and Syria. Still, Israel may take the risk to secure more U.S. support for its ongoing war on the Palestinian enclave of the Gaza Strip and a possible offinsive against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
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