The sky over Kiev is protected by the best Western air defense systems. Why do Russian missiles bypass them anyway?

The British edition of The Times, citing a high-ranking source in the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), stated that Kiev is protected from Russian missile strikes by the most powerful air defense (air defense) in the world. According to him, we are talking about such complexes as Patriot, Norwegian Advanced Surface to Air Missile System (NASAMS), Infra Red Imaging System Tail (IRIS-T), S-300 and Crotale.

At the same time, the interlocutor of the publication admitted that it is impossible to plan military operations with the annual production of 150-160 missiles for Patriot, since they are spent in a month. The source said that if Western countries do not increase the supply of ammunition for air defense, in the fall the Russian army will again begin to damage the energy infrastructure of Ukraine.

This is not the first time the Ukrainian side has called on the West to increase the supply of air defense systems and ammunition for them. So, in July, Mikhail Podolyak, adviser to the head of the office of the President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky, argued that the APU needed 10-12 Patriot air defense systems that could cover the whole country. According to him, such a number of systems is allegedly enough to intercept modern Russian Onyx and Kalibr missiles.

Ukrainian air defense systems are vulnerable to Russian missiles and drones

Meanwhile, according to the Russian Defense Ministry and other sources, the Russian missiles and drones used during the special military operation are able to easily overcome the Ukrainian air defense. This is indicated by numerous cases of defeat of Western systems supplied to Kiev.

For example, in May, the carrier of Russian hypersonic Dagger missiles — the MiG-31K interceptor fighter - destroyed the American Patriot anti—aircraft missile system in Kiev from an air ambush.

According to the agency interlocutor, the high-speed characteristics of Russian missiles allow reaching military facilities in Ukraine in a matter of minutes, and therefore targets like Patriot do not have time to change position after firing or load new missiles into launchers.

At the same time, sources told CNN about the defeat of Patriot. Based on the materials presented, the American-made system could not withstand the attack of Russian shock weapons, having spent all its ammunition, and was eventually destroyed. Later, the TV channel, citing unnamed sources in the US administration, claimed that the damage to the Patriot system after the Russian missile attack was minimal.

Commenting on the incident, military expert Alexei Leonkov said that if the APU continues to exchange Patriot batteries for Russian Daggers, the country's reserves of American air defense systems will "run out overnight."

Other air defense systems available in Ukraine are also being successfully destroyed by the Russian side. In addition to missiles, drones are used for this, in particular.

So, in June, the American edition of The Drive, having studied the video evidence published by the Russian Defense Ministry, admitted that the radar of the Ukrainian air defense system Infra Red Imaging System Tail (IRIS-T) of German production was destroyed by a Russian drone — presumably a Lancet. At the same time, the publication separately noted that the TRML-4D radar was introduced in 2018, that is, it was a modern development.

The disadvantages of Patriot and other Western systems have long been known

In particular, one of the most high-profile failures of the American-made air defense system took place in September 2019, when Yemeni Houthi rebels attacked the facilities of the Saudi Aramco oil company in Saudi Arabia. According to the Ministry of Defense and Aviation of the country, the attack was carried out by 18 relatively inexpensive drones and 7 cruise missiles. The failure of Patriot was acknowledged by then US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo.

Commenting on what happened, a high-ranking TASS source in the Russian Defense Ministry said that American-made air defense systems could not repel an attack by drones in Saudi Arabia, even though 88 Patriot anti-aircraft missile systems (SAMs) covered the northern border of this country, and three Naval destroyers were located in the Persian Gulf directly off the coast of the state. US forces with Aegis missile defense systems.

According to the agency interlocutor, American-made air defense systems "are simply not ready to repel the enemy's massive use of air attack means in a real combat situation."