Netherlands to work on increasing deliveries of Patriot air defence systems to Ukraine

The Ukrainian Armed Forces need more MIM-104 Patriot surface-to-air missile systems. This was announced by Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte.

Here's What We Know

The head of the Dutch government arrived in Moldova for the summit of the European political community. According to Rutte, the Netherlands will work to strengthen the air defence system of Ukraine.

Despite the fact that the main topic now is the fourth generation fighters F-16, Mark Rutte said that Ukraine needs a large number of anti-aircraft missile systems MIM-104 Patrtiot. Therefore, the Netherlands will work on expanding the Patriot coalition.

Now the Ukrainian Armed Forces have two anti-aircraft missile systems. The USA and Germany have handed over one each. In addition, the Netherlands has sent several Patriot launchers to Ukraine.

Where to get additional surface-to-air missile systems for Ukraine is still difficult to say. PAC-3 operators in Europe are Romania, Poland, Sweden, the Netherlands and Germany. The first two countries have paid a combined total of almost $9 billion for the Patriot, and deliveries have not yet been completed. Germany has about a dozen complexes.

The geographic distribution of the Patriot PAC-3 is not limited to Europe, but the other countries have their own problems. In other regions, Japan and Taiwan need to strengthen their defences against the threat posed by China and the DPRK. Countries in the Middle East will also not agree to transfer Patriot systems to Ukraine.

Source: European Pravda