Why 1,000 Patriot Missiles Will Go to Europe, Not Ukraine

While Washington says it faces shortages of missiles for the MIM-104 Patriot air defenses in Ukraine, it has found an opportunity to replenish it and Western Europe's own stockpiles.

In the wake of the eruption of the Israeli-Palestinian crisis last October, reports started emerging that the US would soon be unable to keep Ukraine’s Patriot air defenses sufficiently supplied.

On January 6, the New York Times cited White House and Pentagon officials as saying that Washington is facing obstacles in supplying Ukraine’s Patriot batteries with interceptor missiles, which cost around $2 - $4 million apiece.

The US has reportedly run out of money for Ukraine as House Republicans are unwilling to approve a multi-billion package for Kiev unless the Biden administration gives a nod to a sweeping migration reform. Although the US Department of Defense still has some limited ability to supply Kiev, "that is not going to get big tranches of equipment into Ukraine," as Shalanda Young, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, warned last Friday.

On Monday, Senate negotiators met to discuss a new bipartisan migrant bill but by the end of the day they ended up with significant disagreements over the matter. Meanwhile, House Republicans remain stuck to their tough immigration demands.

The Western press has repeatedly claimed that Patriots play a great role in Ukraine's air defenses as they are designed to counter ballistic missiles. However, Washington has so far sent only a handful of these systems to Ukraine. The Wall Street Journal revealed in November that the Pentagon is running low on Patriots after the Mideast crisis prompted the US to deploy an additional six batteries of the missile system in the region. What's more, the NYT admitted that Patriot missiles "are not perfect and have been known to misfire and fail."

Meanwhile, NATO announced on January 3 that it would help a coalition of Allies, including Germany, the Netherlands, Romania and Spain, to buy up to 1,000 Patriot missiles to replenish their own stockpiles. As per the alliance's official website, COMLOG, a joint venture between the US defense firm RTX (formerly Raytheon) and German company MBDA, was awarded the $5.5 billion contract.

"I welcome allies’ timely announcement to invest in up to 1,000 new Patriot air defense missiles to bolster the Alliance’s security," stated NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. "This investment shows the strength of transatlantic defense cooperation and NATO's commitment to keeping our people safe."

Europeans will be supplied with a thousand Patriot guidance enhanced missiles (GEM-T) designed to intercept tactical ballistic, cruise missiles or adversary aircraft, as per the producer. According to Breaking Defense, COMLOG will "expand production" of GEM-T missiles in Europe.

The move came after EU member-states handed over some of their legacy air defense systems to Kiev. During the Ukraine conflict, Germany and the Netherlands delivered their Patriot systems to the Eastern European state, following in the footsteps of Washington. In addition, the US and Norway sent national advanced surface-to-air missile systems (NASAMS) to Kiev, while Germany supplied IRIS-T SLM (surface-launched medium-range) missiles to the Ukrainian military.

Alas, despite Europe restocking, Kiev is unlikely to get new air defense equipment and ammo in the near future due to a lack of funds to purchase it, aid fatigue, and partisanship among American and European lawmakers.