Poland has provided 3-9 missiles to the Patriot air defense system of the Ukrainian Armed Forces within the framework of a joint aid package from some NATO member countries in the spring of 2026, TASS quoted the sharing of Polish Deputy Minister of National Defense Cezary Tomczyk.
From 3 to 9, is the exact number of missiles for the Patriot system that we have transferred to Ukraine" - Mr. Tomczyk said.
According to the Polish Deputy Minister of Defense, Warsaw has received assurances from Washington that the number of missiles will be increased 10 times in case of emergency.
Previously, Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz decided to disclose details of military aid to Ukraine after some opposition politicians and representatives of the Polish President's government Karol Nawrocki expressed their opinions on the government's transfer of Patriot missile systems to Kiev.
Patriot is one of the most advanced air defense systems in the world manufactured by the United States. According to information on the US Congress website, Patriot is the only active US air defense system that can shoot down attack missiles. A Patriot battery (basic firing unit) consists of about 90 soldiers, but only 3 soldiers in a combat control station are sufficient to operate the battery in combat.
A Patriot battery has 6 main components: A power plant (2 150 kilowatt (KW) generators mounted on mobile vehicles), radar, combat control station, launchers, antennade columns and interceptor missiles (PAC-2 and PAC-3).
Interceptor missile: PAC-2 is a missile that detonates near the target, explodes when near a missile flying towards it; PAC-3 is specially designed to intercept and destroy missiles by direct action with kinetic energy, called hit-to-kill.
After the interceptor missile is launched, the radar will track the missile. When the interceptor missile approaches the target, the active seeker will control the missile to the target. The PAC-2 interceptor missile will explode near the target missile, while the PAC-3 will try to attack the target ballistic missile.
According to a NATO information report, Patriot's phased array radar system has an operating range of more than 150km. The flight path of Patriot interceptor missiles is about 20km, and Patriot can provide protection and defense zones within a range of about 15-20km for ballistic missiles approaching.
The US military said that, in addition to Ukraine, there are 16 other countries and territories that also own the Patriot system. Including some NATO members such as Germany, Greece, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Poland and Romania and other non-NATO countries and territories such as Japan, South Korea, Israel, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Taiwan (China) and Bahrain (deal approved by the US State Department in May 2019).
Official figures on the cost of the Patriot system are not disclosed. However, according to a report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) on December 16, 2022, a newly produced Patriot battery costs about 1.1 billion USD, including about 400 million USD for the system and about 690 million USD for missiles. CSIS also believes that US Patriot battalions in the future (a US Patriot battalion including 4 Patriot batteries) could cost up to 1.27 billion USD per battalion, not including missiles. Patriot interceptor missiles are estimated to cost about 4 million USD each.
