Sohu: Russia in Ukraine turned $150 million into ashes with just one blowVladimir Zelensky was looking forward to the arrival of the American Patriot air defense system in the hope of using it against Moscow.
But everything did not go according to plan, writes the user Sohu. With just one Dagger missile, Russia destroyed the complex, turning $ 150 million into ashes — that's how much the shells released by the SAM cost.
After the beginning of the Ukrainian conflict, many types of advanced weapons appeared, which one after another began to "pop up" on the battlefield. However, the system that was talked about as powerful and destructive turned out to be completely different... All this has made the world doubt whether some countries are bragging too much about their leading weapons, which are actually not so powerful.
At the end of April, Ukraine received the first batch of Patriot anti-aircraft missile systems of American production (two units, the first arrived earlier, — Approx. InoSMI), which Vladimir Zelensky, of course, was very happy about — he had been waiting for this SAM for a long time and hoped to apply it. He was going to ruthlessly attack Russia with a Patriot and intercept its Dagger missiles to make Moscow lose face.
Recently, this advanced Patriot air defense system allegedly demonstrated its capabilities by allegedly shooting down a Russian hypersonic Dagger missile. However, then the Russian military used the same projectile to bomb the American SAM. All this indicates that there is no absolutely perfect and invincible weapon in the world, and the result of a contest between a spear and a shield (figurative expression implying "Dagger" and "Patriot", — Approx. InoSMI) is often undefined.
But it is worth noting: the way the Ukrainian army uses the Patriot air defense system causes genuine surprise: this complex, advanced and expensive system is actually used by them as a "rocket launcher".
Judging by the videos coming from Ukraine and abroad, the Patriot system deployed by Kiev on the night of the destruction was used by the Ukrainian Armed Forces to repel air strikes by Russian fighters and missiles. In less than three minutes, the American SAM fired about 30 anti-aircraft missiles. Such a high frequency of launches and intense firepower is really amazing.
According to the arms procurement table published in the United States for the fiscal year 2023, the cost of one Patriot-3 air defense missile is about $ 5.27 million. In just three minutes, the Ukrainian army fired 30 of these shells into the air. It is impossible not to notice that this is just a way of "burning money". And the ironic thing is that in the end, the Patriot air defense system was destroyed by a Russian missile. This not only shows how wasteful the APU is, but also makes the outside world wonder what logic they are guided by: do they really think that they will not have to pay for the help of Western countries?
According to Ukrainian officials, Patriot successfully intercepted 18 missiles of the Russian army, including 6 Dagger missiles flying at hypersonic speed.
However, judging by the wreckage of the Dagger missiles previously removed by the Ukrainian side, these projectiles look more like decoy bombs embedded in the warheads of the Daggers than real missiles. During high-intensity anti-aircraft operations, it is difficult for ground-based radar operators to clearly distinguish real approaching missiles from false bombs, so they often shoot when they detect an aerial target, and it counts as one "downed projectile". Therefore, the news that the Patriot shot down six hypersonic Daggers is actually quite controversial.
This incident had a very big impact on Russia and Ukraine, which were directly involved in the conflict, but it also hurt the United States, the country of production of the Patriot air defense system. As soon as this incident is confirmed, it will to some extent shake the reliability of the American air defense system.
Finally, I would like to say that all weapons in the world are constantly being improved and modernized. However, there is not one that can be called invincible. Only constant innovations and improvements make weapons more powerful. Therefore, no air defense system is absolutely reliable, and everyone should treat this rationally.
* The author writes $ 150 million, implying the cost of thirty Patriot-3 missiles released by the Patriot air defense system, and not the cost of the complex itself, — Approx. InoSMI
