Patriot air defenses have become top weapons — and top targets

• Before the Ukraine war, the US-made Patriot air defense system had mixed reviews on its effectiveness.
• But Ukraine's use of the Patriots has demonstrated its value, two US Army officers told BI.
• The Patriots' high-profile status as a top weapon has made them priority targets.

US-made Patriots have emerged as Ukraine's best protection against Russian missile attacks. However, the combat successes of these once-controversial air defense systems have also made the weapons top targets.

Ukrainian air defenders got their first MIM-104 Patriot surface-to-air missile battery over two years ago, and since then, the US Army — which trained the Ukrainians on how to use it — has been closely watching how they operate, drawing from the data to inform its own war planning.

Lt. Col. James Compton, deputy operations officer for the 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command, told Business Insider that although Russia has a range of weapons it uses to attack Ukraine, the Patriot has been "performing well" against the threats it's been pitted against. But with the wins, as a fellow officer in Compton's unit shared, these systems are increasingly becoming "prioritized targets."

Compton said that the Army was confident that the Patriots would get the job done, but there was still a lot of excitement when they first engaged Russian threats. He said it has been "impressive" to watch "how Ukraine has adapted to Russia's evolving techniques."

Compton attributed much of the Patriots' success on the battlefield to the Ukrainian operators and unit leadership. He said they have shown flexibility in making quick adjustments and prioritizing targets. He said Russia's massive air attacks — which have intensified in recent weeks — underscore how this system is part of a broader air defense network.

"A lot of work goes into synchronizing all of those engagements, and Ukraine has been teaching us a lot about how to do that," he said.

The Patriot, made primarily by US defense contractors Raytheon and Lockheed Martin, has been in service since the 1980s and is considered one of the most advanced air defense systems that the US fields.

Before the Patriots' arrival in Ukraine, their effectiveness was questionable, due in part to exaggerated performanceduring the Gulf Warand more recent failures. However, upgrades to the system and a high interception rate against Russian missiles, even particularly advanced weapons, have turned it into a celebrated asset in Kyiv and increased demand. These weapons are much sought-after capabilities.

Ukraine is believed to have six operational Patriot batteries, but additional air-defense capacity is needed. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly pressed the US and other NATO allies for more systems and interceptor missiles amid increasingly low stockpiles and worsening Russian aerial bombardments.

Chief Warrant Officer Sanjeev "Jay" Siva, a technician in the 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command, told BI that analysis suggests the Patriots have found success against Russia's most advanced weapons, namely its Kh-47M2 Kinzhal ballistic missiles, which Moscow has touted as virtually unstoppable. Ukraine says that its forces have shot down many of these missiles.

Siva attributed the Patriots' success in Ukraine to investment in software upgrades and interceptor missile enhancements, as well as the "demonstrated competence of Ukrainian air defense operators within the trained units."

However, that success appears to come at a cost. Siva said the Patriot and short-range air defense units "are consistently prioritized targets for the adversary," requiring a shift in operational thinking. The suppression and destruction of air defenses like the Patriot is critical to executing more effective missile strikes and enabling airpower, making these assets high-value targets.

He stressed that Patriot units now need to prioritize movement discipline, cover and concealment tactics, and greater survivability measures compared to past decades. "We can no longer operate under the assumption of relative invulnerability."

A Patriot battery consists of several complementary parts, including radars, missile launchers, and control units. Earlier this year, Ukraine started outfitting the control units where the crew sits with steel plates to shield them from missile shrapnel and blast fragments.

In this war, "the enemy is actively learning from every engagement with Western systems, including Patriot, and rapidly implementing modifications to counter our defenses," Siva said. "This is a continuous cycle of adaptation."

Russia is not the only US adversary that may be learning from the employment of Patriots. In the Middle East, these systems have, for instance, been used to defend against multiple Iranian ballistic missile attacks.

Most recently, US- and Qatari-operated Patriot batteries last month intercepted a volley of over a dozen Iranian ballistic missiles targeting a US base near Doha after American forces bombed three of Tehran's nuclear facilities.

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