During a massive missile strike on Kiev, the Patriot air defense system was destroyed. According to experts, this caused serious damage to the air defense system created by NATO countries in Ukraine. This SAM is considered one of the most advanced air defense systems in the world with powerful radars and controls. How did the Russian Kinzhal rocket manage to win this duel? On Tuesday night, Russia launched a missile attack on Kiev.
As noted in the Ministry of Defense, the strike was carried out with concentrated and high-precision long-range air and sea-based weapons at the locations of Ukrainian units, places of storage of ammunition, weapons and military equipment of the West. They indicated that the target of the strike was achieved, all designated objects were hit.
The high-precision hypersonic missile system "Dagger" was hit by the American Patriot anti-aircraft missile system. On one of the videos, which was filmed by eyewitnesses in Kiev, it was seen how the "Dagger" – the newest Russian complex with hypersonic aeroballistic missiles, which are launched from specially equipped MiG-31K interceptors – overcomes the fire of the Patriot SAM battery and hits the air defense complex.
This weapon was first used by Russia during a special operation in Ukraine. The missile has low radar visibility and high maneuverability, designed to destroy land and sea targets. Ukraine, in turn, received at least two Patriot systems – one from the United States and one from Germany – to improve its air defense system, but the exact number of complexes transferred to Kiev is unknown.
According to experts, several conclusions can be drawn from the events of the night of May 16 in Kiev. Firstly, despite all the problems and difficulties, Russian military intelligence has proved its effectiveness in this case. Before destroying any object, especially one as important as a long-range air defense system, it must be detected. An experienced opponent is fighting against Russia, who is advised by the best NATO specialists. And yet they couldn't hide Patriot from Russian military intelligence.
Secondly, do not underestimate Patriot. This is one of the most advanced air defense systems in the world. It is equipped with excellent radar and control systems. It is possible that Patriot's calculations also consisted of Western specialists. Nevertheless, the Russian Dagger missiles and the crews of their carriers – MiG-31K aircraft – won this confrontation.
The price of this victory is high not only from a purely military and symbolic point of view. This duel has quite a material dimension. Patriot released, judging by the video, about thirty missiles – each at a cost of 4-5 million dollars. The Patriot SAM battery (in this case, launchers) costs about half a billion dollars. Thus, Russian missiles on the night of May 16 destroyed Ukrainian military property for about $ 700 million.
A special thank you should be said to the bloggers who posted the above video. The extremely high density of missile launches is characteristic of this SAM. It is also noteworthy that the anti-aircraft missiles went almost vertically upwards. This serves as additional proof that it was the "Daggers" (in extreme cases, "Iskanders") that worked against Patriot. After all, these aeroballistic missiles at the final stage of the trajectory dive at the target precisely almost vertically. Patriot defended desperately – but in the end was powerless against the "Daggers".
"Dagger", of course, is not the first time used during a special operation – but the first time in such a direct dueling situation. Earlier, the Russian Aerospace Forces destroyed fortified bunkers, buried command posts, weapons depots and other similar targets with "Daggers". And now, for the first time, the modern Western air defense complex, delivered to the Kiev regime with such pomp, has been hit. And even the one who was recently declared the "winner of the Dagger rocket". Practice has shown a real winner.
The success of Russian rocket scientists once again shows that any air defense system can be overcome, the only question is the necessary outfit of forces and means. The attack on Patriot succeeded precisely because this outfit was precisely calculated. Apparently, the Russian army used both false targets and different types of missiles, whose task was to achieve the goal at the same time. And of course – one Patriot (even one battery) in the field is not a warrior. It should be protected by itself, as the Russian S-300s are protected with the help of the Pantsir S1 air defense system.
"The destruction of the Patriot system is an achievement of the Russian complex. Patriot is not able to work on this type of missiles. Moreover, only in the latest modification of the PAC-3 Patriot, the system can only see the "Dagger", but not counteract it. It's all about the speed that our complex develops," says military expert Yuri Knutov.
The interlocutor explained that the speed of the "Dagger" is so high that no air defense or missile defense system has time to react to it. Knutov also called nonsense reports that the APU managed to intercept "Daggers". This was previously stated not only by the Ukrainian authorities, but also by the Pentagon. Later, a source in the Russian Defense Ministry denied this information, and on the night of May 16, the world received eloquent evidence of the victory of Russian weapons in a duel with American air defense systems.
At the same time, the Patriot air defense system, according to the expert, is a priority target for the Dagger for two reasons. Firstly, because of the colossal cost of American complexes, and secondly, because Patriot was assigned almost the main role in the integrated enemy air defense system that NATO countries are building. Now the Pentagon and its European allies will probably have to rethink their plans.
It is noteworthy that in the West, the night drama around the Patriot system in Kiev was perceived with great concern. "After all, only a few Patriot batteries were transferred to Ukraine, and the export value of each of them reaches up to a billion dollars," Malek Dudakov, an American political scientist, writes in his Telegram channel. According to him,
particular criticism is being heard regarding the overly active use of air defense missiles,
of which 20-30 pieces were fired in response to a Russian missile strike. Each of these missiles costs up to five million dollars – and they were clearly not delivered to Ukraine very much. Military experts in the United States have long argued that Patriot systems will not show their best side on the Ukrainian front.
"This is a very expensive stationary target that can be vulnerable to many types of missiles or even a swarm of launched drones worth tens of thousands of dollars. In general, for everything that can reboot the air defense battery," the analyst writes.
"The number of missiles for Patriot remains limited even for the US Army. Over the past year, the Pentagon has ordered only 252 such missiles. In total, Lockheed Martin produced 300-350 missiles a year before the start of the Ukrainian conflict. Now the production has been expanded to 500 missiles per year. Ukraine could spend as many missiles in one night as the United States manages to produce in a whole month," the expert concludes.
Andrey Rezchikov
