Newscasts - What is the Patriot missile system and how does it help Ukraine?

PMET Resources

15/07/2025 15:38

Click the following link to watch video: https://share.newscasts.refinitiv.com/link?entryId=1_wn1a7pl3&referenceId=tag:reuters.com,2025:newsml_RW993215072025RP1_K15&pageId=Newscasts
Source: 'Reuters - General news videos'

Description: U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday (July 13) he will send Patriot air defense missiles to Ukraine, saying they are necessary to defend the country. But what is the Patriot system? Rachel Judah has more.

Short Link: https://refini.tv/44T3zPb

Video Transcript:

We will send them Patriots.

In a major policy shift US President Donald Trump has announced a fresh wave of missiles and weaponry for Ukraine including Patriot air defense missiles, which Ukraine urgently wants to fend off daily Russian missile and drone attacks.

He talks nice and then he bombs everybody in the evening.

Although the exact number of Patriots is unknown, Trump was clear that the European Union would pay for them. The Patriot, short for Phased Array Tracking Radar for Intercept on Target, is a mobile surface-to-air missile defense system. It was developed by Raytheon Technologies and is capable of intercepting aircraft, tactical ballistic and cruise missiles. It’s considered one of the most advanced air defense systems in the U.S. arsenal and has been in service since the 1980s. A typical battery includes radar and control systems, a power unit, launchers, and support vehicles. According to Raytheon’s website, it has built and delivered over 240 Patriot fire units, which have been shipped to 19 countries, including Germany, Japan and Egypt. How it works depends on the type of interceptor used.

The earlier PAC-2 interceptor uses a blast-fragmentation warhead that detonates in the vicinity of a target, while the PAC-3 family of missiles uses more accurate technology that hits the target directly. It is not clear what kind of Patriot systems have been donated to Ukraine, but it is likely that Kyiv has at least some of the newer models. According to NATO, the system's radar has a range of over 93 miles, or 150km. A newly produced single Patriot battery costs more than $1 billion which includes $400 million for the system and $690 million for the missiles in a battery. That’s according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, which says Patriot interceptors are estimated at around $4 million per missile. In January, Axios reported the US had transferred about 90 Patriot interceptors from Israel to Ukraine. Ukrainian officials say they are essential to defend key targets from Russia's escalating long-range attacks. But Russia says it sees the Patriots as a direct escalation and has in the past said supplying more would delay the chances of peace.