U.S. discusses transfer to Ukraine of Patriot PAC-3, capable of shooting down ballistic missiles

The United States is considering expanding its military support to Ukraine.

Politico reported about this with reference to the U.S. officials.

In addition to the Patriot air and missile defense system, the Biden administration is also inspecting the possibility to transfer other weapons, such as JDAM kits, which convert unguided bombs into all-weather precision-guided munitions. The U.S. is also considering GLSDB munitions for HIMARS, which combine the GBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb (SDB) with the M26 rocket motor, allowing them to strike targets at a distance of up to 150 km.

According to the American publication, on Thursday morning the U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley, briefed House members about the situation in Ukraine.

They discussed sending the Patriot air defense system to Ukraine, but said the decision had not yet been approved.

One of the plans under consideration envisages the transfer to Ukraine of a Patriot missile battery, a Patriot Advanced Capability-3 variant, that is designed to intercept ballistic missiles.

Another option is contracting with Raytheon Technologies to build new systems from scratch, but that could take years.

One of the issues that the U.S. officials are grappling with, is training Ukrainian servicemen to operate the system. Politico notes that one Patriot battery needs as many as 90 troops to operate and maintain it, while the associated training can take months.

One of the U.S. officials said that the Pentagon had not yet answered lawmakers’ questions regarding training, including where it would take place.

The American publication notes that the Patriots would be one of the most sophisticated weapons sent by the U.S. since the beginning of the war and would help Kyiv combat strikes from Russian aircraft and missiles this winter.

PAC-3 (Patriot Advanced Capability-3) is the latest and most advanced modernization of American air defense systems of the Patriot class. The system is designed to intercept tactical ballistic missiles, as well as cruise missiles.

The air defence system uses the ERINT (Extended Range Interceptor) highly maneuverable direct hit anti-missile. The ERINT anti-missile is a single-stage solid fuel projectile made according to the normal aerodynamic scheme with small elongation wings and aerodynamic aileron rudders. Each launcher can accommodate up to 16 ERINT interceptor missiles.