According to the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba, based on the results of a conversation with the head of British diplomacy, David Cameron, London is joining the search for additional air defense systems, primarily Patriot, for Ukraine.
What is known about Britain's intentions to seek additional air defence systems for Ukraine
We agreed on the next steps regarding the search and delivery of additional air defense systems to Ukraine, primarily Patriot. I appreciate David's proactive approach aimed at achieving the goal, Kuleba emphasized.
Defense Express journalists note that a sufficient number of Patriot air defence systems exist in Saudi Arabia, which could transfer these systems to Ukraine.
However, Germany, which leads the "air defence coalition" for Ukraine through "Ramstein" aid, has been blocking the sale of Eurofighter Typhoon fighters to Riyadh since 2018.
In this vein, it is London's diplomatic channels and its position in the arms market that may well have much greater effectiveness. If we continue exclusively with the hypothetical example of Saudi Arabia, it is Great Britain that actively supplies this country with weapons — over the past 10 years for more than 10 billion pounds, — the authors of the material emphasize.
Moreover, Great Britain manufactures air defence equipment, which is already used by the Ukrainian military.
We are talking, in particular, about the air defence system under the AIM-132 ASRAAM. London also manufactures anti-aircraft systems with CAMM missiles known as Sky Sabre.
What similar air defence systems could Ukraine get instead of Patriot
Analysts of the Defense Express portal have found cheaper and, at the same time, no less effective analogues of Patriot air defence systems to protect the sky in Ukraine from attacks by the criminal army of the Russian Federation.
In particular, we are talking about the SAMP/T air defence system, which Ukraine has already received from European partners, and the Israeli air defence system "David's Sling", which is significantly better than the Patriot regarding critical characteristics and cost.
At the same time, the number of "David's Sling" in Israel itself is unknown, as are the technological cycles of its production. But the very fact that it is an Israeli air defense system makes its transfer or purchase even more difficult than finding additional Patriots. Because at the moment Israel not only does not transfer or sell lethal weapons to Ukraine, there is still a silent blocking of re-exports, — the publication emphasises.
