13.05.2024

Israel removes Patriot anti-aircraft missile systems from service

Sections: Missile and artillery, Air defense, Markets and cooperation, Status and prospects, Global safety

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The original was taken from a colleague of oleggranovsky in the AOI, which removes the Patriot air defense system from service

On April 30, 2024, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced the upcoming decommissioning of the Patriot air defense system (Yaalom in the Israeli Air Force). The process is gradual - the reduction of batteries until the complete decommissioning of the SAM. This will happen quickly enough, the AOI website says "soon" ("be-Karov"), and on Wikipedia - already in July 2024 (although it is not clear where this date is taken from). What is being replaced is not officially reported, according to Wikipedia - "David's Sling" (in service since 2017).

The decision was not sudden. In the recent past, the Air Force had 2 Patriot divisions - the 138th ("Northern") and the 139th ("Southern"). The total number of batteries has never been officially published, there are sources claiming that there are 8-10 of them (while 4-6 are on long-term lease from Germany). Since 2020, there have been consistent reports of fleet reductions:

08/13/20 - it was decided to reduce the Patriot air defense system fleet to "batteries in central points" (Atarim Merkaziyim);
05.01.21 - cuts in the 139th division;
01/26/12 - 139th Division disbanded;
02/20. 24 - it was decided that several Patriot batteries will be decommissioned, and their personnel will undergo a refresher course (several weeks) at the LCD; in the future, new LCD batteries will be created, including the first one in a few weeks;
30.04.24 - the current solution.

A brief history of the Patriot air defense system in the AOI

In 1962, Israel ordered 5 batteries of the Hawk air defense system from the United States. They arrived in the country starting in 1965, then additional systems were ordered (so, in 1973, the AOI already had 12 batteries, according to a number of sources, the maximum reached 17). The Hawk underwent many upgrades and remained in service with the AOI until 2014, i.e. the service life was 49 years (1965-2014). For comparison, the SAM served in the United States for 42 years (1960-2002). About the combat use of the Hawk in Israel - in the article "The Hawk air defense system of the Israeli Air Force: the results of combat use."

The Patriot became the second "heavy" AOI air defense system and entered service in the fall of 1990. The first 2 Israeli batteries were urgent American assistance, at that time the AOI did not yet have personnel to work with the Patriot, the first delegation (mainly from those who previously served on the Hawk) left for the United States on 11/25/90. The course lasted 3 months for operators and 5 months for technicians. Due to the outbreak of the First Gulf War (17.01.91), the staff urgently returned to Israel. At the same time, the personnel of the Israeli batteries were staffed by Americans, and the technicians were all Americans, in addition, the Israeli sky was protected by 4 American and 1 Dutch Patriot batteries. In January-February 1991, Iraq fired 43 missiles at Israel (42 Al-Hussein and 1 Al-Hijara ), at least 36 missiles of the Patriot complex were used to intercept them. Despite initial rosy reports, it was not possible to intercept these missiles.

So the first intercepted target (UAV) on the account of the Israeli Patriots appeared only in 2014. In the article "Patriot air defense system shot down UAVs over the Golan", I gave a list of 10 interceptions in 2014-2018 (8 UAVs and 2 aircraft: Syrian Su-24 and Su-22M4). And now it has been announced that Patriot shot down 19 targets in total, including 9 during the current war. I pointed out some of these cases in the article "Air defense of the AOI Air Force in the first month of Operation Iron Swords" .

Why is the Patriot being decommissioned?

In an article on the AOI website dated 30.04.24, the commander of the 138th Division, Lieutenant Colonel Matan, says: "Patriot is an old system that is difficult to maintain, so we are currently reducing batteries until the entire system is decommissioned."

Indeed, the Patriot was adopted in the United States back in 1981 and reached primary combat readiness in 1984. However, production of the system continues and there are countries that have purchased it in recent years (for example, Romania received the first in 2020, and Poland - in 2022, Morocco and Switzerland ordered the system in 2021-2023). In addition to the United States, the SAM has been supplied or ordered by 18 countries of the world, none of them has yet withdrawn it from service, as has the United States itself. I.e. Israel will be the first in this matter.

Like any complex system, Patriot is constantly being upgraded. Here is an example for a number of elements:

The AN/MPQ-53 multifunctional radar was replaced by the AN/MPQ-65, and that by the AN/MPQ-65A;
Battery Gearbox (ECS - Engagement Control Station) AN/MSQ-104 replaced by AN/MSQ-132;
PU M901 was replaced by M902 and then by M903.

The issue of the missiles used is also important. Throughout the existence of the complex, the following variants have been created, the abbreviations ASOJ (anti stand-off jammer), PAC (Patriot Advanced Capability), GEM (Guidance Enhanced Missiles), MSE (Missile Segment Enhancement) and PAAC (Patriot Advanced Affordable Capability) are used:

MIM-104A is the basic version; at the same time, missiles upgraded to combat BR (at the software level) are called MIM-104A PAC-1;
MIM-104B ASOJ is an anti-radar missile with the ability to target radio-emitting means;
MIM-104C PAC-2 is an upgraded version to combat BR;
MIM-104D PAC-2/GEM - further modernization of the PAC-2;
MIM-104E PAC-2/GEM+ - includes 2 variants, GEM-C (GEM upgrade, optimized for CD control) and GEM-T (PAC-2 upgrade, optimized for BR control);
MIM-104F PAC-3 is a completely new missile with a diameter of 10 inches (255 mm) versus 16 inches (410 mm) for the original missiles; the capabilities of combating BR are sharply increased, 16 missiles can be placed on the PU (M902 or M903), instead of 4 for the original MIM-104;
The MIM-104F PAC-3 MSE is again a new 11-inch (290 mm) diameter missile, 12 such missiles can be mounted on the M903 PU; the firing range has been increased compared to the PAC-3, and the ability to combat maneuverable targets has increased dramatically;
SkyCeptor (PAAC-4) is a rocket from the David's Sling system.

Returning to decommissioning: as far as it is known, part of the Israeli Patriot radar has been upgraded to the AN/MPQ-65 level, there is no information about the modernization of other elements of the complex. As for the missiles, the MIM-104A were definitely received (apparently all upgraded according to the PAC-1 program). According to Wikipedia (the article "Interceptions of the Israeli Air Force" and the article "Patriot air defense system" ) and other sources, interceptions of targets since 2014 have been carried out with MIM-104D missiles, but it is not clear whether this information is correct. I.e., in general, the Patriot missiles available in Israel are old, with missiles produced 20-30 years ago.

Indirect evidence that the missiles are old may be the case described in the article "Air defense of the AOI Air Force in the first month of Operation Iron Swords" . 03/28.24 at about 13:48 in the Safed area, 2 missiles of the Patriot complex were fired. One missile intercepted a suspicious aerial target (apparently a UAV) over Lebanese territory. The second missile defense system exploded over the territory of Israel, which led to a fire in the Biria forest in the Upper Galilee.

In the presence of 4 missile defense levels (Iron Dome, David's Sling, Hetz-2 and Hetz-3) and interception and aerodynamic targets (Iron Dome and David's Sling), it is not advisable to invest in the modernization of the Patriot. In addition, the price of Israeli missiles is much lower. For example, the price of the Stunner (the rocket of the David's Sling complex) is called $ 1 million, and the MIM-104F PAC-3 MSE missiles are 4 million for the US Armed Forces and 6-10 million for export.

Appendix: Patriot supplies to Israel

According to the SIPRI database, the shipments included:

From the USA:

2 SAMs and 64 MIM-104 PAC-2 missiles, ordered in 1990, delivered in 1991.
32 MIM-104 PAC-2 missiles, ordered in 1991, delivered in 1992.
1 SAM and about 57 MIM-104 PAC-2 missiles, ordered in 1991, delivered in 1993.

From Germany:

2 SAMs and 128 MIM-104A missiles - from the availability of the German Armed Forces, rent for 2 years. The contract was signed in 2002, deliveries in 2003. Further, the contract was extended many times, and in 2012 the systems were transferred to Israel on a permanent basis.
1 MPQ-53 radar - from the presence of the German Armed Forces, leased to Israel in 2011, while the Israeli radar was undergoing modernization in the United States.
2 SAMs and about 125 MIM-104A missiles are available from the German Armed Forces, for rent. 2012 contract, deliveries in 2013

These data are not complete, the situation for 2002-2004. I described it in the article "Patriot air defense system" . And in the article "AOI Air Defense Forces" there is a table of supplies of air defense equipment, including Patriot (up to and including 2003).