“Russian terror against Ukrainian cities and the country’s infrastructure is leading to immeasurable suffering,” said Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD). “It endangers the people’s energy supply and destroys the industrial facilities that are important for the operational readiness of the Ukrainian armed forces.” Germany is therefore going “as far as we can support Ukraine in terms of our own operational readiness.”
Patriot is designed to combat larger airborne targets such as aircraft, drones, rockets and cruise missiles. A system – also called fire units – consists of a radar system and several launchers for defensive missiles. Patriot can keep track of up to 50 incoming targets and engage five objects simultaneously. According to the Bundeswehr, the range is around 68 kilometers.
The ministry explained that the delivery of the additional system was “possible through returns from scheduled repairs.” “All of our alliance obligations can be met with the systems available to Germany.” At the same time, however, “all necessary measures for accelerated replacement and new procurement will be initiated immediately.”
