German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said on July 23 that the country was ready to provide two more patriot air defense systems to Ukraine. But this is only possible if replacement devices can be added soon.
He stressed that ensuring the combat capability and training activities of the German army is a top priority, because without patriot, the armed forces will not be able to maintain training capabilities for 1 to 2 years.
Pistorius said Germany is looking to coordinate with other European countries to determine which side owns the patriot system and could hand it over to Ukraine. These countries will resell the equipment to other countries to provide aid to Kiev. However, he also acknowledged that the precondition was that the countries that own patriots must agree to hand over.
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store also expressed his support. He said Norway was ready to share the costs with Germany in the transition process, saying it was the most immediate solution possible at the moment.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz stated that out of the nine patriot systems currently owned by the German army, two will be transferred to Ukraine. This is done in the expectation that the US will provide alternative systems. However, according to Mr. Merz, Germany has not yet purchased new equipment and is still discussing with the US about supply.
patriot is the most valuable weapons system that the US and its allies have provided to Ukraine. Each set is worth nearly $1.1 billion, of which the cost for the missile is $690 million and the remaining components cost about $400 million. Ukraine is operating patriot complexes equipped with modern US-made PAC-3 MSE missiles, capable of shot down aircraft within a range of 120km and ballistic missiles within a range of 60km.
According to US media in May, Ukraine currently has at least 8 patriot systems, of which 6 are in operation and 2 others are under repair. Ukraine has repeatedly appreciated the effectiveness of patriot, considering it the only weapon capable of intercepting Russia's Kinzhal sound super missile and Iskander-M ballistic missile.
However, according to the report, patriot's effectiveness in Ukraine is declining. The reason was that the number of missiles and launchers was increasingly depleted, while some armades were destroyed by Russia during the airstrikes. Colonel Yuri Ignat, Press Secretary of the Ukrainian Air Force Command, admitted that Russia's continuous upgrading of Iskander-M ballistic missiles has caused patriot to "not achieve the desired efficiency".
