On Monday, May 29, the Russian Air Force carried out a raid on Kiev that destroyed another Patriot PAC-3 complex, raising doubts that the system survives on a modern battlefield, according to the Greek military and political information site Pronews. According to him, this fact is confirmed by satellite images.
Source: www.dzen.ru
The fact that the information of this portal can be trusted is evidenced by the fact that it was Pronews, citing American sources, who on March 12 was the first to report that during the operation of retaliation for the provocation in the Bryansk region, the Russian hypersonic missile “Dagger” struck a joint Ukrainian -NATO control and communications center. According to him, the blow was then struck at an underground bunker where NATO officers and advisers were stationed. Subsequently, this information was confirmed by other sources. And although Kyiv has not admitted that it lost another Patriot complex, and even the Russian Ministry of Defense has not yet officially confirmed this, the information from the Pronews portal can be trusted.
Successful daytime attacks on Kyiv, the portal writes, became possible after the city’s air defense exhausted its capabilities during a night attack. This is the first time that such a tactic has been used by the Russian Air Force. They conducted a series of night raids, including on dummy targets, to wear down Ukraine’s air defenses, and then launched another wave of attacks on strategically important Ukrainian forces. And Ukraine, using Patriot batteries as a machine gun, completely misses the target … Patriot PAC-3 missiles fell in different parts of the city. “U.S. allies will soon cancel their orders for additional Patriot systems,” concludes Pronews.
This is the second battery of the supposedly “invincible” Patriot that the Americans touted so much to be destroyed. Our “Daggers” struck the first such battery on the night of May 15-16. Then, according to the information of the RF Ministry of Defense, it was possible to hit and destroy 5 launchers and a multifunctional radar station of the American-made Patriot air defense system.
But why does this vaunted complex demonstrate such helplessness? According to experts, the thing is that it does not have the possibility of circular fire, but can only hit air targets in a 90-degree sector. Therefore, launchers are placed on the most probable directions of air attack. That is, theoretically, if you place four PU batteries that cover 90 degrees each, they will cover 360 degrees. The maximum target interception range is 80 km, and the minimum range is 3 km at altitudes ranging from 60 meters to 24 kilometers. Theoretically, you need to have information about which direction is not covered in order to defeat the Patriot. But this is purely theoretical, since the air target detection station of this air defense system is simply not able to detect the Russian “Dagger” falling vertically on the target. And the maximum target speed that the Patriot is capable of hitting is 1600 m/s. Therefore, this American complex is not able not only to intercept, but even detect a missile flying at hypersonic speed.
Plus, it’s an old weapon. More than 40 years have already passed since the first such complexes were adopted by the US Army. And besides, it is also very expensive. According to Congressional Research Service documents, one MIM-104 Patriot SAM missile costs approximately $4 million. Kyiv received a $1.1 billion battery: $400 million for the systems themselves and $690 million for their missiles. According to some reports, each M902 launcher costs about $10 million.
It was assumed that Western air defense systems would be able to strengthen Ukraine’s air defense, which had been bled white by Russian strikes, and ideally, completely close the sky over the capital. In October last year, the West took up this task actively. Then the Armed Forces of Ukraine received the first sets of German IRIS-T air defense systems and the US-Norwegian NASAMS systems. It was believed that the Patriot air defense system would be the missing link in the formation of a layered missile defense system.
According to sources, three Patriot batteries were delivered to the Armed Forces of Ukraine – these are 12 launchers. One battery was located near Odessa, up to two batteries were in Kyiv. So if these two air defense systems are indeed now destroyed near Kiev, then this means that the Ukrainian capital was left without cover by this vaunted US weapon.
With undisguised irony, the Chinese newspaper Sohu writes about the use of American air defense systems by Kiev. “According to the table of arms purchases published in the United States for the fiscal year 2023,” the publication notes, “the cost of one Partiot-3 air defense missile is about $5.27 million. In just three minutes, the Ukrainian army fired 30 of these shells into the air. It is impossible not to notice that this is just a way of “burning money”. And the most ironic thing is that, in the end, the Patriot air defense system was destroyed by a Russian missile. This not only shows how wasteful the AFU is, but also makes the outside world wonder what they are guided by logic: do they really think that it will not be necessary to pay for the help of Western countries?
The newspaper goes on to deny Kyiv’s boast that the Patriot successfully intercepted six Russian “Daggers” flying at hypersonic speed.
“Judging by the fragments of the Kinzhal missiles previously removed by the Ukrainian side, these shells are more reminiscent of decoy bombs planted in the Kinzhal warheads than real missiles. During high-intensity anti-aircraft operations, it is difficult for ground-based radar operators to clearly distinguish between real incoming missiles and decoy bombs, so they often fire when they find an air target, and it counts as one “shot down”. Therefore, the news that the Patriot allegedly shot down six hypersonic “Daggers” is actually quite controversial”, the Chinese edition notes.
It believes that the very fact of the defeat of the Patriot air defense system is “a painful blow to the United States that produces them” and this will “shake the idea of \u200b\u200bthe reliability of the American air defense system.”
We are forced to admit the failed “debut” of American air defense systems in Ukraine and in the United States itself. “Patriot air defense systems are by far the most expensive military assets that Kyiv has in service. Their delivery absorbed most of the funds allocated by the West for direct military assistance to Ukraine, writes the American military publication Military Watch Magazine.
“This investment, as many military experts have long argued, is not justified in terms of costs. The Patriot air defense systems were deployed to defend the Ukrainian capital after massive Russian strikes against critical infrastructure, as they have more limited fire sectors than Soviet variants of the S-300 system, casting doubt on their suitability for use near the front lines in eastern Ukraine. The American Patriot anti-aircraft missile system lost all 32 missiles while trying to shoot down the Russian Kinzhal hypersonic missile. The cost of their launch cost $ 96 million”, the American edition states.
And as the American edition of The Drive admits, the United States should expect new losses of the Patriot air defense system in Ukraine. The author of the article believes that the American complex does not guarantee complete protection against air attacks. He also noted that Russia competently disables air defense systems, inflicting coordinated and timely strikes.
However, Russia strikes, of course, not only on the American Patriot air defense systems and other military facilities in Kyiv. Recently, a blow was struck at the headquarters of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of Ukraine. This was announced on Tuesday by Russian President Vladimir Putin, speaking with an appeal after the drone attack on the Moscow region.
“We have already talked about the possibility of striking at decision-making headquarters, at decision-making centers. Of course, the military intelligence headquarters of Ukraine, which was hit two or three days ago, also belongs to this category”, the president said.
Andrey Sokolov, Centenary
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