US is running out of air defense systems for Ukraine and the Middle East
(Baonghean.vn) - According to information from an American newspaper, the need for missile batteries in the Middle East region may have impacts on Ukraine.
RT recently reported that the Wall Street Journal reported that the increasingly tense and hostile environment in the Middle East has prompted the US to deploy six more MIM-104 Patriot missile batteries, doubling the number in the region. The newspaper revealed that the Pentagon, the US Department of Defense, is currently facing the risk of running out of this equipment.
The redeployment of the missile batteries comes amid a series of missile and drone attacks on US military bases in Iraq and Syria, which the US blames on Iran's proxy forces.
Additional missile batteries have been sent to Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, where a number of US military facilities are located, according to people familiar with the deployment and Defense Department job postings seeking Patriot operators.
One of the more visible consequences of the growing demand for long-range air defense systems, as the WSJ points out, is Washington’s decision not to send a Patriot missile battery to the Dubai Air Show, which opened on November 13. The Pentagon had planned to showcase three key components of the system, including the launcher, radar vehicle and command post, but announced the diversion in late October.
A typical Patriot missile battery has eight launchers, although up to 16 can be connected to the same radar and command post. The US Department of Defense has a total of 60 missile batteries, some of which are deployed around the world, from Germany to Guam and South Korea, according to the WSJ. Washington has allowed some of its allies to buy the system.
Two Patriot missile batteries, one supplied by the US and one each from Germany and the Netherlands, were deployed in Ukraine earlier this year, with the promise of additional supplies from Berlin. The capabilities of the US-designed system became the subject of a dispute between Ukraine and Russia in May.
The Ukrainian government claims that Patriot missile batteries have successfully shot down Kinzhal hypersonic missiles over Kiev. However, Moscow denies this, saying that the number of interceptions claimed by Kiev is greater than the number of Kinzhal missiles deployed by Russian forces.
That same month, it was reported that one of the two missile batteries had been badly damaged after failing to intercept an attack with a salvo of 32 interceptors. However, US officials told the media that the damage was “minor” and could be repaired by Ukraine itself.
The New York Times reported last month that US engineers are looking to combine US and Ukrainian equipment into “FrankenSAM” systems. The program includes efforts to use Soviet-designed radar stations in Kiev to guide Patriot missiles to their targets.
