Ukraine has told Patriot manufacturer Lockheed Martin that the U.S. patriot crews in the Middle East made mistakes by firing multiple interceptors at the same target.
Ukraine has been using the Patriot missile for more than two years and has learned to save costly $4 million interceptors by realising the strength of the Patriot missile in its radar system.
Ukraine has learned that it should rely on high-tech American technology rather than the gut feeling of firing multiple missiles out of fear. Ukraine discovered the actual combat strength of America’s missile defense system.
Patriot radar – the Gold standard
The Patriot missile radar system (AN/MPQ-53 or -65) is a ground-based, phased-array radar that serves as the “eyes” of the Patriot air defense battery. It performs all surveillance, target detection, tracking, and engagement functions, locking onto targets up to 170 km away while resisting electronic jamming and countermeasures.
Operates in the G/H band, the radar acts as a multifunctional sensor that detects, identifies, and tracks aircraft, cruise missiles, and tactical ballistic missiles.
Primarily uses the AN/MPQ-53 (for PAC-2) or the enhanced AN/MPQ-65 (for PAC-3), which adds a second traveling wave tube to improve search and tracking capabilities.
a “Phased Array Tracking Radar to Intercept on Target” (PATRIOT), it uses a fixed antenna face rather than a rotating dish, allowing for rapid scanning and tracking of multiple targets simultaneously.
The radar can detect targets at distances exceeding 200 km and engage them within a 370 km instrumented range.
The system is highly resistant to electronic countermeasures (ECM) and can quickly change frequencies to counteract radar jamming.
The U.S. Army is transitioning to the Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensor (LTAMDS), a 360-degree, active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar designed to replace the current radar and counter more complex threats.
The radar works in conjunction with an Engagement Control Station (ECS), which houses computers to manage the battery’s missile launchers. It is integrated into the Army’s Integrated Battle Command System (IBCS), allowing it to share data with other sensors for a broader, more robust air defense network
Ukraine’s experience
Ukraine will receive 600 Patriot interceptor missiles in more than three years. The USA and allies burn through more than 800 in three days during the Iran war. Kyiv’s experts are horrified.
In view of the declining arsenal of interceptor missiles, the Gulf states, unlike the USA, are open to Kyiv’s drone know-how.
He was “amazed” at how the air defense of the USA and its allies in the Middle East works, says an anonymous Ukrainian officer in the London newspaper “The Times”.
It fires up to eight Patriot interceptor missiles, which, depending on the variant, cost up to four million dollars each to hit a target that costs a few thousand dollars.
In Kiev, people are also amazed at the sheer mass that is being fired: President Volodymyr Zelenskyi said in a press conference on March 5 that the US-led Middle East alliance had fired more than 800 Patriot missiles in the first three days of the war.
“Ukraine has never received so many missiles to fend off attacks,” the 48-year-old clarified. Since the start of the Russian war of aggression in February 2022, Kiev is said to have received around 600 Patriots from the USA, Germany and other countries. The armed forces have shared the data collected during their deployment with the USA.
6 million dollar missile against 70,000 dollar drone
However, one Ukrainian officer complains in the Times that the West has not learned anything from Ukraine’s experience with the Patriots since 2022: “I don’t understand what they have been doing or what they have been looking at in the four years we have been fighting,” he says, venting his frustration.
The USA and its allies are too wasteful, he complains: “They have often fired recklessly. For example, they used the Standard Missile 6 from a ship – a very good missile that costs around 6 million dollars – to shoot down a Shahed drone worth 70,000 dollars.”
The Ukrainians do this kind of thing with cheap interceptor drones that cost 10,000 dollars or less. They use anti-aircraft tanks, machine guns – and sometimes they even hit Russian drones with rifles fired from propellet airplanes.
Another negative example is the protection of their own radar systems: on March 5, an AN/FPS-132 radar costing around one billion dollars was hit in Qatar. Shortly afterwards, at least one THAAD radar worth 300 million dollars was also destroyed.
The objects were clearly visible on satellite images and in the latter case had not been relocated, as the Ukrainians had done: “They were in the same place for two months. Then the shaheeds flew in. Three shaheds, each costing around 70,000 dollars. And that was it.”
Ukraine’s air defense is exemplary, writes “The Times”: electronic warfare, jets, ground-to-air systems, interceptor drones and even machine guns are coordinated in a staggered network. Only high-value targets such as Russian ballistic missiles are engaged with one or two Patriot missiles, with the soldiers on the trigger.
What happens when they are not and the Patriot system is operating in automatic mode was demonstrated on March 1 in Kuwait, where the Kuwaiti air defenses accidentally shot down three American F-15E fighter jets. “In every war there is friendly fire, but in this case it was clearly negligence,” comments the Ukrainian “Times” source.
“This is a completely different war”
Colonel Kyrylo Peretyatko was named a Hero of Ukraine when his NASAMS unit shot down twelve Russian missiles in under two minutes. “No country should be complacent,” he warns. “Operations […] like the ones happening now in Ukraine have never been seen before in world history. This is a completely different war that all countries are studying.”
Only the USA is not – even though President Selenskyj has offered his counterpart Trump help. Even “Fox News” is reporting on it: Kiev could send some of “those Wild Hornets,” says presenter Jesse Watters on March 7, referring to cheap Ukrainian interceptor drones.
When Fox News colleague Brian Kilmeade asked Trump on March 13 whether Kiev was supporting Washington militarily, the 79-year-old replied: “No, we don’t need their help with drone defense. We know more about drones than anyone else. We have the best drones in the world.”
On “NBC News” on March 15, Trump added: “The last person I need help from is Selensky.” Just five days later, everything is completely different again: “They’ve done nothing,” the US president suddenly says with regard to Ukraine, reports MS Now. “Everything Selensky does is just for PR and publicity.”
The tablecloth between Trump and Zelensky has obviously been cut, but other states are hearing the message: Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are being advised by around 200 Ukrainian air defense and drone experts. Riyadh is planning to buy thousands of interceptor drones, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The Iran war makes it clear that alternatives are needed: “White House knows Gulf states worry about lack of interceptor missiles”, headlines “CBS News” on March 11. On March 20, the Wall Street Journal warned: “The U.S. ammunition shortage is worse than you think”.
“Like hammering a nail with a microscope”
How full or empty the US arsenal is is, of course, a secret. However, it must be assumed that the friendly states in the Middle East could run out of ammunition. It is doubtful that there is enough production capacity to fill the gaps quickly.
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