Zelensky tells what is needed to close the skies over Ukraine
10 December 2024 21:45
Ukraine needs another 10-12 Patriot systems to completely cover the sky. This was stated by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy in his evening video address on Tuesday, December 10, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
“The main security guarantees for us today, if we are talking not about strategy but about tactics, about what will save lives now, is, of course, the air defense system,” the head of state said.
According to Volodymyr Zelenskyy, ten to twelve additional Patriot systems for Ukraine will ensure our lives and make the war meaningless for Russian President Vladimir Putin. If the Ukrainian sky is fully protected, the enemy will have no advantage in the sky.
“No KABs, no missiles, no ballistic missiles, etc. will be able to hit the civilian infrastructure of Ukraine, the energy sector, our hospitals, schools, universities. That’s all. People will return to normal life, including those from abroad. Children will go to schools and universities. The economy will work,” Zelensky assured.
The President of Ukraine proposed to take funds for the systems from Russian assets. Today, according to Zelenskyy, one Patriot costs one and a half billion.
It should be noted that Patriot is an anti-aircraft missile system (SAM), the main SAM of the US Army, which is manufactured by the American defense contractor Raytheon Technologies. The core of the system is the AN/MPQ-53 Patriot radar, after which the system itself is named. The Patriot system replaced the Nike Hercules system as the US Army’s main high- and medium-level air defense system (HIMAD) and the MIM-23 Hawk system as the US Army’s medium-level tactical air defense system. In addition, the Patriot has been assigned the function of the U.S. Army’s Missile Defense System (MDS), which is now the primary mission of the Patriot.
The Patriot system has been developed since 1963 to replace the MIM-14 Nike Hercules system as the primary medium- and high-altitude air defense platform and the MIM-23 Hawk system as the medium-altitude tactical air defense platform. In addition, the Patriot is a ballistic missile interceptor platform, and with the advent of the PAC-3 modification, this has become the main purpose of the complex. In October 1980, a contract for the production of the system was signed, and in December 1981, the first system was delivered to the troops.
