Ahead of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to Washington on Wednesday, the White House confirmed that Ukraine will receive an advanced US-made Patriot missile defense system to try to counter Russian attacks.
Since the war began in February, many Western air defenses have been deployed, from shoulder-launched Stinger missiles to more advanced systems guided by radar and heat detection. They all provide a comprehensive level of protection against different threats.
Patriot missiles are another step on the same path and will challenge Moscow.
They are not magic wands, but they are extremely effective (and expensive). A Patriot missile costs about R$3 million (R$15.6 million), which is three times the cost of a missile in a NASAMS (Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System). Two of these equipment have been working in Ukraine for several weeks.
The White House said at a press conference that the new Patriot missile battery “will be a critical asset in defending the Ukrainian people against Russia’s barbaric attacks on Ukraine’s critical infrastructure.”
Patriots were used against Russian-made Scud missiles in Iraq during the First Gulf War and have been in continuous development by Raytheon Technologies ever since. They come with batteries that include a command post, a radar station to detect threats, and launchers.
Target ranges vary between 40 km and 160 km, depending on the type of missile used. And these are called “point defense” systems: they are often designed to defend specific areas, such as cities or important infrastructure, in other words, they are valuable assets.
No unit from the United States or the Western military alliance North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) can operate these systems inside Ukraine, so, as with other Western weapons, Ukrainian forces will need to be trained to use them, and that training will take place. Abroad.
This may already be being worked on, and the US military has said it will expand to include Ukrainian forces in Germany from January.
Moscow has described its plans to send the Patriots as “a provocation” and to expand the US military intervention in Ukraine. Russia stated that such missiles would become “legitimate targets” for attack, as has already been said in this war.
It’s hard to say exactly what impact Patriot systems will have. They will certainly provide an additional layer of protection, but their size and cost means that very few units can be shipped.
What is clear is that Ukraine’s obsolete Russian-made surface-to-air missile systems are gradually being replaced by more modern weapons supplied by the West, which will provide comfort for Kyiv, but will ring alarm bells in Moscow.
– Text originally published at http://bbc.co.uk/portuguese/internacional-64053811
source: Noticias
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.