Patriot missile systems will help Ukraine's defense but experts caution they may have limited effect - CNN

CNN  — 

The US announced this week that it is providing a Patriot rocket artillery to Ukraine — but experts accidental that portion it volition beryllium a invaluable summation to the beleaguered country’s aerial defense, it’s not a cure-all.

The US announced a caller assistance bundle to Ukraine connected Tuesday, which included the “first-ever transportation to Ukraine of the Patriot Air and Missile Defense System, susceptible of bringing down cruise missiles, abbreviated scope ballistic missiles, and craft astatine a importantly higher ceiling than antecedently provided aerial defence systems,” according to a State Department spokesperson. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky traveled to the US connected Wednesday to observe the transportation with US President Joe Biden.

“It increases accuracy, it increases the termination rate, truthful it truly does precisely what you privation it to bash which is extortion connected the crushed connected precise circumstantial targets,” retired Maj. Gen. James “Spider” Marks previously told CNN of the system’s capabilities.

The Patriot’s radar strategy combines “surveillance, tracking, and engagement functions successful 1 unit,” a statement from the Center for Strategic International Studies (CSIS) says, which makes it basal retired among different aerial defence systems. The system’s engagements with incoming aerial threats are “nearly autonomous” speech from needing a “final motorboat decision” from the humans operating it.

Ukraine has repeatedly asked for the US Army’s Patriot – an acronym for Phased Array Tracking Radar for intercept connected Target – system, arsenic it is considered 1 of the astir susceptible long-range aerial defence systems connected the market. And though the US did not fulfill the petition for the archetypal 10 months of the war, a elder medication authoritative told CNN that the “reality of what is going on” connected the crushed successful Ukraine influenced their determination to bash so.

In caller weeks, the Russian military has progressively attacked Ukraine’s powerfulness grid and infrastructure arsenic wintertime approached and the temperatures dropped. Zelensky told Biden that “Russian rocket terror” had knocked retired astir fractional of Ukraine’s vigor infrastructure.

Those attacks person lone further fueled Ukraine’s asks for the Patriot. In fact, the Army calls the Patriot system the service’s “most precocious aerial defence system,” which can intercept “any aerial threat” nether “any upwind conditions.”

Retired Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling, erstwhile commandant of US Army Europe, told CNN that determination is apt immoderate unrealistic expectations astir what a Patriot artillery volition beryllium capable to bash for Ukraine. It won’t, for example, beryllium disposable to usage instantly aft the US agrees to supply it — it takes months to bid troops connected however to usage the analyzable system, Hertling said, adding that grooming US troops to service arsenic maintainers oregon repairmen takes astir a year. And it won’t beryllium capable to supply broad screen for the full country.

“These systems don’t prime up and determination astir the battlefield,” Hertling said. “You enactment them successful spot determination that defends your astir strategical target, similar a city, similar Kyiv. If anyone thinks this is going to beryllium a strategy that is dispersed crossed a 500-mile borderline betwixt Ukraine and Russia, they conscionable don’t cognize however the strategy operates.”

Indeed, Tom Karako, manager of the Missile Defense Project astatine CSIS, told CNN that the Patriot is “not a game-changer” due to the fact that it is “still lone capable to support a comparatively tiny portion of dirt.”

Not to notation the important logistical needs; conscionable 1 artillery is operated by astir 90 soldiers, and includes computers, an engagement power system, a phased array radar, powerfulness generating equipment, and “up to 8 launchers,” according to the Army.

CSIS recently said successful a report that the rocket rounds for the Patriot travel successful astatine astir $4 cardinal each. Rounds that costly apt won’t beryllium utilized to sprout down each rocket Russia launches toward Ukraine, Hertling said.

“This is not a strategy that volition spell aft drones oregon smaller ballistic missiles,” helium said. “Can it bash that? Absolutely. But erstwhile you’re talking astir knocking down a $20,000 drone, oregon a $100,000 ballistic rocket that Russia buys, with a $3-5 cardinal rocket, that doesn’t springiness you overmuch of a instrumentality connected the investment. What it tin bash it escaped up the debased and mean systems to spell aft those benignant of targets.”

The strategy has been purchased by different US allies, including Israel, Germany, and Japan, and was sent to Poland successful an effort to assistance them support themselves against Russia arsenic it invaded Ukraine connected its border. The US subject made wide successful March erstwhile the Patriot strategy was sent to Poland that it was purely for antiaircraft purposes of NATO territory and “will successful nary mode enactment immoderate violative operations.”

And successful Ukraine’s case, Hertling says violative operations are acold much important than the Patriot system. CNN archetypal reported past period that the US was considering a melodramatic summation successful the grooming provided to Ukrainian forces by instructing arsenic galore arsenic 2,500 troops a period astatine a US basal successful Germany. The Pentagon said this month that combined arms grooming of battalion-sized elements, which volition see infantry maneuvers and unrecorded occurrence exercises, would statesman successful January.

“The Patriots are a defensive, anti-ballistic and anti-aircraft limb system, with the accent connected defensive,” Hertling said. “You don’t triumph wars with antiaircraft capabilities. You triumph wars with violative capabilities.”