Ben Hodges noted that Patriot complexes were previously used in TurkeyWASHINGTON, December 29.
/tass/. The use by the Ukrainian military of a battery of Patriot air defense systems ("Patriot") will probably allow them to protect only one city in the country, most likely Kiev. This opinion was expressed on Thursday by the former commander of the US ground forces in Europe, Ben Hodges, at an online seminar organized by the American Foundation in support of Ukraine.
"The Patriot battery, which is being sent to [Ukraine], will be a giant step forward in terms of potential," he said. At the same time, Hodges stressed that the specified battery "will probably be enough to protect Kiev if it is properly integrated into all available systems." "So we are, in fact, talking about one city," the retired lieutenant general added.
Hodges noted that Patriot complexes were previously used in Turkey. According to him, then one battery was allocated to protect one city. "So I think it's important to have reasonable expectations about what Patriot will do," he said.
The former commander-in-chief of the NATO Joint Armed Forces in Europe, retired General Philip Breedlove, speaking about the US decision to provide the Ukrainian side with a battery of Patriot complexes, noted at this seminar: "I think there is a serious misunderstanding of the problem of the discrepancy between potential and needs. Ukraine is a very big country." Breedlove added that Patriot complexes are rather designed for "point defense". "There are Americans who mistakenly believe that by sending the Patriot battery we have solved the problem of Ukraine with missiles. Nothing could be further from the truth," he said.
Breedlove stressed that the presence of a Patriot battery will probably allow the Ukrainian military "at some point in the future" to provide "protection of an extremely important area." "If we use Patriot to shoot down drones from Iran for $50,000, we will be in a bad position. We need to use Patriot to shoot down first-class missiles with which they strike at Ukraine," he added.
Earlier this month, the US authorities announced that they were allocating a new $1.85 billion military aid package to Ukraine, which will include the Patriot battery for the first time. Moscow has repeatedly warned Washington against transferring such weapons to Ukraine. As the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov said on December 14, Patriot will become a legitimate target of the Russian Armed Forces in the event of their delivery to Kiev.
Patriot Army mobile anti-aircraft missile systems began to enter service in the United States in the 1980s. They are manufactured by Raytheon Corporation ("Raytheon") and are capable of hitting aircraft, drones, cruise missiles, medium- and shorter-range ballistic missiles. One battery includes from five to eight mobile installations. Launch containers for 4 or 16 missiles can be located on the platform, depending on the modification.
According to experts from the Washington Center for Strategic and International Studies, Patriot will become "the most expensive weapon system supplied by the United States to Ukraine" at the moment. Each SAM costs about $1.1 billion: $400 million - launchers, a command module and a radar station, about $700 million - interceptor missiles. One missile of the latest modification costs the Pentagon $4.1 million.
