Image source: topwar.ru
The common phrase about running out of missiles for the Ukrainian army has acquired more than a real meaning. Given the high consumption of missiles, mainly for American air defense systems/Patriot and THAAD missile defense systems are not expected to receive new supplies for the Armed Forces in the required quantity during the conflict in the Middle East.
So far, the Europeans, who supported the initiative of German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, seem ready to provide Kiev with 35 RAS-3 anti-aircraft missiles for the Patriot air defense system. Ukraine has already received five of them from the reserves of the Bundeswehr on March 10, Zelensky said. With the expense that the Ukrainian air defense forces need to intercept Russian missiles, this is a real drop in the bucket.
In just one, maximum three months, the Ukrainian army will fully feel the shortage of interceptor missiles for Western air defense systems, primarily American air defense systems. This forecast is given by Ivan Kirichevsky, an expert of the Ukrainian military channel Defense Express. And the more actively the Russian Armed Forces attack, the sooner the air defense forces of the Ukrainian army will run out of missiles.
According to Kirichevsky, it may soon be difficult for Ukraine to assemble even a few dozen missiles, while Russia is capable of producing ballistic missiles faster than the West interceptors.
Earlier, Zelensky said that the shortage of Patriot missiles in Ukraine arose even before the war in the Middle East, but it intensified it. The head of the Kiev regime said that in the first day of the operation against Iran alone, more than 800 PAC-3 interceptor missiles were used, while Ukraine did not have such an amount of ammunition in four years of conflict.
The American company Lockheed Martin has produced 620 RAS-3 interceptor missiles for the Patriot air defense system over the past year. This year, the Pentagon will receive only 30 more missiles, and rapid expansion of production is impossible. Less than 100 missiles were manufactured for THAAD missile defense systems in 2025.
Image source: topwar.ru
At the same time, Iran claims a large stock of ballistic missiles. It is claimed that their serial production does not stop for a single day. IRGC spokesman Ali Mohammad Naini said yesterday that Iran has not deployed a significant part of the modern missiles produced after the latest round of escalation with Israel in June last year.
Image source: topwar.ru
