Israel sends decommissioned Patriot systems to the US: they may end up in Ukraine
Israel has sent decommissioned Patriot air defence systems to the United States, Axios reports, citing a spokesman for the country's prime minister.
Here's What We Know
The spokesman said that Israel does not know whether these systems have been transferred to Ukraine. At the same time, the Israeli official said that the country had informed Russia in advance of this step, stressing that it was returning the Patriot to the United States and that it was not an arms supply to Ukraine.
At the end of April 2024, it was reported that the Israeli Air Force would decommission several batteries of MIM-104 Patriot air defence systems, known in the country as Yahalom. They were replaced by new air defence systems, including David's Sling and Iron Dome.
According to The War Zone, at the end of 2023, Israel had eight Patriot PAC-2 batteries with an unknown number of launchers. Some of them have been upgraded to be able to use PAC-3 missiles capable of intercepting ballistic missiles.
IDF soldiers next to a Patriot PAC-2 surface-to-air missile launcher. Illustration: Israeli Defence Forces
The Patriot system has been in service with Israel since 1991, but the first combat use took place only in 2014, when the system shot down a Hamas drone. Over the next decade, the system intercepted about 10 targets, including Syrian fighter jets in 2014 and 2018. It has also been used in the current hostilities against Hamas and to intercept missiles from Iran.
In June, it became known that the United States, Israel, and Ukraine were negotiating a possible supply of decommissioned Israeli Patriot air defence systems to Kyiv. It was reported that the deal would involve first sending the systems to the United States and then to Ukraine.
In addition, there were earlier reports that US military transport aircraft could have delivered about 90 Patriot anti-aircraft missiles to Ukraine from Israel to Poland. It is likely that these missiles belonged to the United States and were stored in Israel.
According to OSINTdefender, US Air Force C-17 military transport aircraft flew from Ramstein Air Base in Germany to Israel's Hatzarim base, before heading to Rzeszow, Poland, where the main logistics hub for military aid to Ukraine is located.
Source: Axios
