And there is another dilemma: To combat Russia is more useful an Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System II or the Phased Array Tracking Radar to Intercept on Target? These are important dilemmas now that Trump is known to send more weapons to Ukraine – the question is whether they are the weapons that Ukraine needs
The mystery is unraveled on the “various pieces of very sophisticated military equipment” which: they are Patriot anti -aircraft defense systems. Prior note: Patriot do not abound and are extremely expensive.
“We are talking about absolutely unmatched values,” says Major General Agostinho Costa. As for details: Each Patriot system can cost almost two billion euros and each PAC-3 missile costs about two million-and each time Ukraine wants to neutralize an Iskander ballistic missile needs two PAC-3.
Agostinho Costa makes another caveat: “Americans cannot give what they do not have”: “Recently, the US has only 25% of Patriot they need for their domestic needs.” “The US can produce 60 PAC-3 missiles a month. Well, this is not much and, fundamentally with the 12-day war between Israel and Iran, the US anti-aircraft defense systems are highly depleted. And these 60 missiles must be sufficient for US needs, Ukraine’s needs and Israel’s needs,” explains Major-General Agostinho Costa.
But what are Patriot?
In English, these anti -seissile batteries are called Phased Array Tracking Radar to Intercept on Target – something like a phased matrix screening radar for target interception. They have the ability to intercep ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and even hostile aircraft, all for the purpose of defending strategic areas, from cities such as Kiev to military basis, through critical infrastructures such as energy or communications.
Each Patriot -or Partriot system -consists of a radar -capable of tracking, identifying and guiding the foolish missiles -a control center, several launchers -each battery has four or six launchers -generators, antennas and, finally, the pac -2 defensive missiles, PAC -2 or PAC -3, and in Ukraine it has been given preference to the latter.
“One thing is a missile, another thing is the system,” explains Agostinho Costa, noting that these PAC-3 has a range that surrounds the 300 km.
In Ukraine, these US manufacturing batteries are essentially used to neutralize ballistic missiles such as the Iskander and Khinzal. PAC-1 and PAC-2 missiles are “commonly used to neutralize cruise missiles, which are subsonic missiles,” as is the case of the kalibr russians, details the major general.
Are Patriot the salvation of Ukraine?
Agostinho Costa is a perennial in stating that “it makes no sense” all the media attention that has been given to Patriot. “Patriot is not a panacea,” the major-general begins, maintaining that “the problem that Ukrainians currently have is not a threat of the Iskander.” “Every day we saw attacks with 500 or more drones and then 10 or 12 missiles. The number of missile attacks has not greatly increased, the contrary: we stop seeing Russian attacks on TU-95 bombers. We also see no attacks from vessels, we see fundamentally attacks with Shahed drones.”
Agostinho Costa considers that “the lack of patriots is a false problem.” “What Ukraine needs is effective drones systems because the threat is drones. For the threat that Ukraine has right now, the patriots do not serve because no one will spend a missile that costs around two million euros against a drone that costs 50,000 or less,” explains Agostinho Costa.
For the defense expert, there are two certainties: “The issue of air defense in Ukraine is almost a square of the circle,” and, he says, the solution does not pass the Patriot. Agostinho Costa understands that more useful for Ukraine would have been the 20,000 units of the Apkws-II system that were promised and before the 12-day war ended up being diverted by the Trump administration to Israel, as reported.
APKWS -II – or Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System II – is a laser orientation system capable of turning Rockets Hydra 70 – launched from helicopters and fighters – into precision missiles. In short, it is a orientation kit and not a complete missile but that is able to turn a mere rocket into a cheap and lightweight laser-taught missile.
“This is what the Ukrainians are missing. It’s not the patriots,” says the Major-General, noting that Russia is using between 500 and 700 drones a day and, in a short period of time, this value should reach 1,000 drones launched every 24 hours: “You need to adjust the weapon to the threat.”
With the patriots announced by Trump “we are talking about exorbitant values and which, in terms of quality/price relationship, are a brutality,” says the major general, highlighting another central problem in Ukrainian air defense: the lack of coherence of the systems.
In Israel, for projectiles and short -range drones there is Iron Dome; For medium and long range drones there is David Sling; And for ballistic missiles there is Arrow and Taad. In Russia, all systems are coherent and Russian manufacture, he says. Meanwhile, in Ukraine, there are French systems, US systems, German systems, Italian systems: “It is much more difficult to coordinate and integrate systems of different conveniences.”
