Over the next few months, Israel intends to get rid of all its Patriot air defence systems. According to analysts of the Defence Express portal, with the assistance of the United States, these systems may be transferred to Ukraine.
What is known about Israel's decision to get rid of Patriot systems
It is noted that Israel has decided to write off these air defence systems due to their obsolescence, low efficiency and complexity in maintenance.
The country is armed with four batteries in the PAC 2 version (without the ability to defeat ballistic missiles).
Analysts emphasise that in real combat conditions, these air defence systems have shot down 19 enemy UAVs in the sky over Israel.
How Ukraine can get Patriot air defenсe systems from Israel
Despite the appearance of ‘extra’ Patriots, Israel is unlikely to transfer them to Ukraine. Not only is it not providing any assistance, but it is now tacitly blocking even the re-export of weapons. In these circumstances, the only possible option is for the United States to simply buy these air-defence systems and exchange them under rather complicated schemes,’ the publication writes.
For example, Washington could supply these four batteries for modernisation or transfer them to Spain/Greece, which in turn would have to transfer their own to Ukraine.
What is known about the US position on the transfer of additional Patriot air defence systems to Ukraine
Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin called on partners to provide Ukraine with Patriot air defence systems.
As you know, I bring together about 50 countries every month to discuss how we are going to continue to provide security assistance to Ukraine on a large scale and at a rapid pace. Air defence has long been one of the things that we have emphasised over and over again. There are countries that have Patriot systems, and so we continue to engage those countries, encouraging them to provide more capabilities,’ the US Secretary of Defence said.
He added that he speaks with his counterpart, Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov, on a weekly basis.
He knows exactly what we're doing, how we're engaging other countries, looking for additional capabilities around the world, Austin said.
