The Ukrainian Air Force has officially stated that several Russian aircraft, downed in May
inside Russian territory were destroyed by the American-made Patriot air defense system.
The events that transpired on May 13 involved significant losses for Russian Aerospace forces.
All 5 aircraft crashed in Bryansk Oblast, which is deep within Russian territory and located across
from Ukraine's Chernihiv Oblast in the northeast. On that day, three Russian Mi-8 helicopters,
one Su-34 fighter bomber, and one Su-35S fighter were reportedly lost, with no survivors.
Also, there were reports that the Patriot was used to down
several Kinzhal (Dagger) hypersonic & Iskander missiles a few days later.
Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Col. Yuri Ihnat at that time hinted at
the use of Patriot but he has now confirmed this.
In this video, Defense Updates analyzes how the American Patriot downed Russia’s most advanced
aerial assets in Ukraine? Let's get started.
On November 27, Colonel Yuri Ignat confirmed to the Ukrainian Novynarnia media outlet that
a Patriot system was employed for the ambush in the Bryansk region on that particular day.
As per the approximate translation of Novynarnia’s interview with Ignat,
the Ukrainian Air Force spokesman noted that the May 13 shoot-downs were:
"a brilliant operation led by the commander of the Air Force. Thanks to their unconventional
and decisive actions, [Ukrainian] Patriot SAM units destroyed five aircraft in five
minutes in the Bryansk direction, from where they were then bombarding our
northern regions with guided missiles. I jokingly call it the 'Bryansk difference."
Ignat further added, "Another Su-35 was shot
down [by a Patriot system] over the Black Sea. It happened some time after the events
in [the] Bryansk region [on May 13]. And after that, they [Russian aircraft] stopped flying
there for a while, because they realized that it was dangerous there, they could be shot down."
During the interview, Ignat underscored the significance of Patriot batteries in
defending airspace closer to home. This included their role in intercepting Iskander short-range
ballistic missiles and Kinzhal air-launched hypersonic missiles in and around Kyiv.
DefenseUpdates community may note that a Patriot battery stationed in Ukraine's capital
reportedly identified over a dozen incoming Russian missiles, including six Kinzhals,
and most probably Iskanders from a distance of approximately 125 miles or 200 km. The
Patriot system successfully tracked, intercepted and destroyed all of them,
with the final interception occurring at a distance of around 9 miles or about 15 km.
Ignat noted,
"We [have downed] 15… 'Daggers' [Kh-47M2 Kinzhal hypersonic air launched ballistic
missiles altogether]… plus dozens of… ballistic missiles that were flying towards Kyiv,"
He added, “Patriot… is extremely serious technology. After all,
only a head-on collision [hit-to-kill] guarantees the downing of a ballistic missile,
and all this is done without human intervention. Our people with combat experience of shooting
down the 'Daggers' will become mentors not only for our cadets, but also for foreigners. Because
no one in the world has yet shot down the Dagger, [bar Ukraine’s air defense forces]”
The American Patriot Air Defense System is an all-weather tactical mobile air defense system.
The system has the ability to engage against cruise and ballistic missiles,
drones as a well as different types of aircraft.
The Patriot Pac 3 uses a passive electronically scanned array radar.
The radar has a range of more than 160 km or 100 miles.
Patriot Pac 3 introduced the new MIM-104F missile, which is also referred to as the PAC-3 missile.
For aerial targets, like aircraft & drones,
the Patriot MIM-104F missile has an engagement range of 160 km or 100 miles,
whereas for ballistic missiles, it has a range of about 30 km or around 18.5 miles.
The Patriot missile uses a Track-via-Missile (TVM) guidance system. After the missile is launched,
mid-course guidance is provided by the mobile control center, which uses the radar
to direct the missile toward the target. In the terminal phase, the Ka-band active
radar seeker in the nose of the PAC-3 missile acquires the inbound threat.
At a cost of approximately $1.1 billion, the Patriot represents the most expensive
individual weapon system that has been provided to Ukraine.
Despite Kyiv's appeals to the Pentagon for the weapons since the beginning of the war,
the first Patriot systems were sent much later. For over a year,
Ukraine lacked an air defense system capable of countering Russia's aerial assets.
Ukraine is now thought to possess two Patriot systems
one provided by Germany and one by the U.S.
There were always concerns that non-stealthy aircraft like Su-34 , and Su-35S would be
vulnerable in well-defended airspace. Importantly, even the Kinzhal missile
touted to be a game changer by Russia, has been intercepted by Patriot.
Western analysts have remained skeptical, calling Kinzhal an
upgrade of existing Air launched ballistic missiles instead of a revolutionary weapon.
According to Ian Williams, deputy director of the Missile Defense Project at the
Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank, under the right conditions,
a Patriot might be capable of taking down one of the fast-moving Kinzhal missiles,
Mr. Williams noted as reported in New York Times, “Hitting a Russian Kinzhal with a Patriot missile
would be tough but not impossible. There are a lot of factors, such as where the Patriot is,
where that Kinzhal was headed and whether or not it was maneuvering.”
There is no doubt that several Russian systems like Kinzhal are very good but
have specific weaknesses that can be exploited.