The Ukrainian air force eagerly awaits the delivery of a U.S. missile defense system it hopes will combat Russian strikes like the one that left 11 dead in the city of Sloviansk on Saturday.
Sometime after Ukraine’s Easter celebration, taking place this Sunday, they’re expecting the upgrade in the form of the Patriot air defense system which the U.S. military employs.
Ukrainian air force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat did not give a precise timeline on when it would be delivered, but claimed the press would know “as soon as the first Russian aircraft is shot down.”
Patriot is an acronym for “Phased Array Tracking Radar for Intercept on Target.” It is manufactured by Raytheon Technologies Corp., and considered to be one of the most advanced systems in the U.S. arsenal.
It’s a mobile system that consists of radar, a control station, power generator, launch stations and other support vehicles, a Reuters story says.
A single Patriot battery costs over $1 billion. Raytheon has built 240 so far, and they’re used in 18 different countries.
A group of 65 Ukrainian soldiers had been in the U.S. to train and learn about these systems. They recently returned to Europe after a month spent at Fort Sill, a U.S. Army base in Oklahoma.
The Ukrainians initially had been expected to head home with a Patriot missile battery. But now, the battery is expected to be delivered to Germany, from where the Ukrainians will transport it over to their country.
While no timetable has been offered to the public, Ihnat says the systems “should enter Ukraine in the near future.”
The Department of Defense stated last month that the hope was the Ukrainian soldiers would share what they had learned with others in their military.
Germany and the Netherlands have also promised to provide Patriot systems to the Ukrainian air force, and France and Italy have pledged similar anti-missile systems to help bolster their defense efforts.
Ukraine’s military aims to strengthen its ability to combat incoming missiles as it prepares an expected counter-offensive to retake Russian-controlled areas.
Russian strikes have intensified in recent months. Russian forces have been trying to seize the city of Bakhmut, which has been the focus of the war’s longest battle.
With News Wire Services
