Marta Gichko13:59, 08.04.25

The Ukrainian air defense also has two SAMP/T complexes from Italy and France in its arsenal, and Italy is promising another one. But their effectiveness against ballistics is questionable.

Ukraine has received only half of the additional Patriot batteries it requested exactly a year ago as part of its overall needs, but the main problem now is the missiles, writes  Defense Express.

Ukraine has received only three full Patriot batteries and one partial one – that is, half of the request for seven SAMs submitted exactly a year ago. In total, Ukraine currently has about six Patriot batteries of various compositions, which is significantly less than the 25 needed for full coverage, or even the 10 that are called the minimum.

Recently, the Ukrainian president again addressed his partners, emphasizing:  

“The Patriot systems, which are now just sitting somewhere in storage with partners, should actually protect lives.”

Of the three batteries received, one each was transferred to the US, Germany, and, unexpectedly, Romania, which only recently received Patriot. The Netherlands was unable to fully assemble the battery, so it transferred only the radar and three launchers.

In addition to Patriot, Ukraine also has two SAMP/T complexes from Italy and France, and Italy is promising another one. But the effectiveness of SAMP/T against ballistic missiles is questionable.

The main problem is missiles. Zelenskyy said on February 19: “The commander calls me and says: ‘We are now near this city, and we have no missiles for the Patriot systems, we have run out of them.'”

Raytheon and Lockheed Martin were to deliver only 500 MSE missiles and up to 240 GEM-T in 2024. The plan for 2025 is 600 MSE. Ukraine has priority in deliveries (except for the US Army and Taiwan), but this is not enough.

Foreign production will not help yet: the Japanese Mitsubishi can assemble up to 30 MSE per year, and the launch of GEM-T production in Germany is not expected before September 2026.

(C)UNIAN 2025