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Israel supplies Patriot systems to Kiev: escalation in military support against Russia

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Israel has delivered several MIM-104 Patriot air defense systems to Ukraine, a significant step in escalating its military support to Kiev against the Russian air campaign, Israeli Ambassador to Ukraine Michael Brodsky confirmed in an interview with Pravda USA on June 8, 2025.

This is the first official admission by an Israeli official that multiple systems, not just one as previously reported, have been transferred from the decommissioned Israeli Air Force arsenal.

This is the first official admission by an Israeli official that multiple systems, not just one as previously reported, have been transferred from the decommissioned Israeli Air Force arsenal.

Brodsky did not specify how many of the eight MIM-104D PAC-2/GEM+ “Yahalom” systems, decommissioned in April 2024, have been sent, but the reference to “systems” in the plural indicates a substantial contribution.

The move, coordinated via U.S. Air Force C-17 flights from Nevatim Air Base in Israel to Poland starting in January 2025, bolsters Kiev’s ability to counter Russian missile and drone strikes, raising questions about Israel’s changing stance in the conflict.

Technical Features of Patriot Systems

The MIM-104D PAC-2/GEM+ “Yahalom” systems are advanced air defense platforms designed to neutralize a wide range of air threats. First deployed by Israel during the 1991 Gulf War to intercept Iraqi Scud missiles, these systems, operated by the 138th and 139th Battalions of the Israeli Air Force, were a mainstay of the country’s multilayered defense until their retirement.

A Patriot battery is made up of several integrated components:

  • AN/MPQ-53 or AN/MPQ-65 Radar: Uses phased array technology to detect and track up to 100 targets over 100 miles away and up to 80,000 feet in altitude.

    AN/MPQ-53 Radar

  • Engagement Control Station: A mobile command center that processes radar data and manages missile launches.
    Up to eight M901 launchers: each houses four MIM-104D missiles, 17 feet long and weighing about 2,000 pounds, equipped with a high-explosive fragmentation warhead and a proximity fuse.
  • The GEM+ upgrade, introduced in the early 2000s, improves the missile’s seeker to counter low-altitude, high-speed targets such as cruise missiles, making it effective against Russian Kh-101, Kalibr and Iskander-M missiles. Mounted on semi-trailers or German MAN trucks, the system provides mobility, although the radar’s electromagnetic signature requires strategic placement to avoid detection.

Operational Use and Successes

Israel’s Patriots have been adapted to deal with regional threats, such as Syrian Scud missiles, Hezbollah drones and Hamas rockets. In 2014, a Patriot battery shot down a Hamas drone over Gaza, marking its first combat interception, followed by 18 more, including Syrian Su-24 and Su-22 jets in 2014 and 2018, according to The Times of Israel. During the Israel-Hamas war that began in October 2023, nine interceptions neutralized drones and missiles over Jordanian and Lebanese airspace.

Although it lacks the PAC-3’s hit-to-kill technology, the GEM+ excels against tactical and airborne ballistic missiles , outperforming Ukraine’s aging S-300 systems, which struggle against modern threats due to outdated radars and missiles, a 2024 Center for Strategic and International Studies report noted. Compared to Russia’s S-400, which boasts a 250-mile range, the Patriot stands out for its reliability and integration with NATO systems. Ukrainian forces have already demonstrated the system’s effectiveness, intercepting a Russian Kh-47M2 Kinzhal hypersonic missile in May 2023, Reuters reported.

Transfer Logistics

The systems transfer has been complex and orchestrated by the United States. Since January 2025, open-source analysts have tracked C-17 Globemaster III flights from Ramstein Air Base in Germany to Nevatim, Israel, and then to Rzeszow, Poland, a key hub for Western aid to Ukraine, according to OSINTdefender’s X post. Those flights have carried about 90 MIM-104E PAC-2 missiles, approved by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in September 2024, according toAxios. A single Patriot battery, with radar, launchers and support vehicles, requires multiple C-17 flights because it weighs tens of tons.

C-17 Globemaster

At least one system has been overhauled in the United States before delivery, with software upgrades to the radar and missile maintenance by Raytheon, The New York Times reported in May 2025. Ukraine operates seven Patriot batteries, but two M901 launchers were destroyed near Pokrovsk in March 2024 by Russian Iskander missiles, according to a post on X. The Israeli systems, designed for NATO interoperability, integrate with Ukrainian Patriot infrastructure, although protecting the radars from Russian Kh-31P anti-radiation missiles and ZALA Lancet drones remains a challenge. Ukrainian teams, training at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, in 2023, are well-prepared to operate the systems, according to Defense News.

Strategic Implications

Israel’s delivery of the Patriots represents a significant shift in its policy toward the Ukrainian conflict, strengthening Kiev’s ability to defend itself from Russian air strikes and consolidating cooperation with the United States and NATO. But it also raises questions about how the move will affect Israel’s relations with Russia and other regional actors, in an already complex geopolitical context.

This is the first official admission by an Israeli official that multiple systems, not just one as previously reported, have been transferred from the decommissioned Israeli Air Force arsenal. Israel has not taken such a strong pro-Ukrainian stance so far, but Moscow's continued support for Tehran is evidently starting to have its effect.

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The article Israel supplies Patriot systems to Kiev: escalation in military support against Russia comes from Scenari Economici .

This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/israele-fornisce-patriot-ucraina-supporto-militare-russia/ on Tue, 10 Jun 2025 05:15:44 +0000.