Analytics

Where are the extra Patriots and why are they still not in Ukraine: an overview

ANALYSIS

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the United States is looking for partners to transfer the Patriot system to Ukraine. He said this during a congressional hearing in response to accusations that the Trump administration is making concessions to Russia, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.

Rubio said that Trump has not yet made any concessions to Putin. On the contrary, the United States is quite actively trying to help Ukraine. In particular, together with NATO allies, they are trying to find additional Patriot air defense systems for Ukraine.

“There are NATO allies who have several Patriot batteries that they could provide to the Ukrainians to protect, for example, Kyiv. And we have been working with partners to secure the supply of some of these systems. But no one wants to give up their systems…”

– radio Liberty quoted Rubio as saying.

Patriot in defense of Ukraine

Since the full-scale Russian invasion in 2022, the Patriot system has taken on a new meaning. For the first time, it has been used so intensively against modern Russian missiles, such as the Kinzhal ballistic missiles, and has demonstrated high efficiency. This has sharply increased global interest in the Patriot: a number of countries have ordered additional batteries, and the manufacturer, Raytheon Corporation (RTX), has increased production of PAC-3 MSE interceptor missiles to 500 per year (with plans to reach 650 per year in 2027).

As of the spring of 2025, Ukraine has received about 7-8 full-fledged Patriot batteries of various configurations, which has significantly strengthened the country’s missile shield. However, even this is not enough – it is estimated that up to 25 batteries are needed to fully cover the territory. That is why the Ukrainian side constantly talks about the need for more Patriots, but these calls are countered by the position that “we need such a system ourselves.”

So "Komersant Ukrainian" tried to analyze how many working Patriot systems there are in the world, how many of them are with partners, and how many of them are realistically available to Ukraine. If it is realistic at all.

Patriot World Park: how many batteries and where

According to publicly available data, as of May 2025, there are approximately 180-210 Patriot batteries in the world, which are in service with 18-19 countries.

The largest Patriot operator is the United States – before the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine, the US Army had about 90 batteries, of which about 60 were active in combat service as of 2023. Other countries allied with the United States have a total of about 120 Patriot batteries in service. Of these, about 30 are in Europe, and several dozen in Asia and the Middle East. Below is a rough breakdown of Patriot deployments in major countries.

Sources: U.S. Department of Defense data, Defense Express analytical assessments, and DSCA public communications. PAC-2 is an older version, PAC-3 is a newer one.

As the table shows, Germany (~10 systems) and Greece (6 systems of the older PAC-2 version) have the largest arsenals in Europe. Other European operators are Spain (3 batteries), the Netherlands (3 active batteries), Poland, Romania, and Sweden (all three countries have just started receiving Patriot in recent years).

In Asia, the key users of Patriot are Japan (24 batteries) and South Korea (8 batteries), reflecting the threat from North Korea and China. In the Middle East, most of the US allies in the region have Patriot systems: Saudi Arabia has about 18-25 batteries of various modifications, the UAE has up to 8 modern PAC-3s (and a few more old ones), Kuwait has about 7-8, and Qatar has up to six. Israel also used four Patriot PAC-2 batteries, but in 2024 it withdrew them from combat duty, replacing them with its own Arrow and David’s Sling systems.

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Ukraine’s allies (NATO, EU, and partners) have Patriot systems

Almost all states that own Patriot are partners or allies of Ukraine in one way or another. First of all, these are members of NATO and the European Union. In the North Atlantic Alliance, Patriot is in service with eight countries: The United States, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Greece, Poland, Romania, and Sweden.

NATO

In total, European NATO members have a little more than a dozen PAC-3 batteries and about ten older PAC-2s. In particular, Germany operates 9-12 Patriot PAC-3 batteries and has ordered 8 additional systems of the latest configuration3 . Poland and Romania have just started receiving American systems: Poland has 2 batteries, the first of a large order (the Wisła plan envisages up to 8-12 batteries in the coming years), and Romania has purchased 7 batteries, the last of which were delivered by the end of 2023. Sweden received 4 Patriot PAC-3 units (two divisions of 2 batteries each) in 2021-2022 as part of a $3.2 billion deal.

The Netherlands has a small fleet (3-4 batteries), as it downsized the Patriot after the Cold War, but retained modern PAC-3 modifications. Spain received 3 Patriot PAC-2 batteries in the 2000s (second-hand from Germany) and plans to purchase 4 new Patriot 3 systems in the future. Greece owns 6 Patriot PAC-2 batteries purchased in the early 2000s, which are integrated into the national air defense system along with S-300PMU1 and other systems. These Greek Patriots have even been deployed in the Middle East – for example, in 2021, one battery was sent to protect Saudi oil facilities from a Yemeni attack.

Partners outside of NATO

Ukraine’s partners actually include the United States’ close partners in Asia – Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan – which have a significant Patriot fleet. Japan has deployed 24 PAC-3 batteries across the country (including 4 on the island of Okinawa) to protect against North Korean missiles. South Korea has acquired 8 Patriot batteries (partly PAC-3, partly upgraded PAC-2) in addition to THAAD systems to counter the threat from the DPRK. Taiwan has at least 7 PAC-3 batteries deployed for missile defense around key cities.

However, Asian allies are not yet involved in military assistance to Ukraine due to their own security circumstances and export restrictions. For example, Japan is only beginning to ease its legal prohibitions on the export of lethal weapons, and South Korea is limited to selling ammunition to the United States (which is then sent to Ukraine) and does not currently provide missiles or systems directly.

Role in the defense of Ukraine

Among NATO countries, the United States and European members of the Alliance have so far provided the greatest assistance in strengthening Ukraine’s air defense. It is they who have the necessary systems – in particular, Patriot, NASAMS, IRIS-T, SAMP/T – and the political will to transfer them. Since the spring of 2022, Western allies have significantly strengthened Ukraine’s air defense by transferring dozens of short- and medium-range air defense systems. However, the situation with ballistic missile defense is more complicated – the allies have a limited number of Patriot systems, and each performs critical tasks in its own country.

Nevertheless, as of April 2025, Ukraine has received at least six Patriot batteries from partners (from the United States, Germany, the Netherlands, and Romania), which is exactly half of the additional 12 systems that Kyiv requested a year ago. According to Defense Express, with the latest arrivals, the Ukrainian Armed Forces already have 7-8 Patriot batteries of various modifications. These systems protect Kyiv and other major cities from ballistic and aerodynamic missiles. To further strengthen air defense, the Ukrainian leadership, together with NATO, plans to acquire several more Patriots in 2025 – negotiations are underway ahead of the NATO summit in the summer.

Who can provide Patriot to Ukraine: potential donors

Ukraine’s appeal and the search for systems

In the face of a shortage of missile defense assets, President Zelenskyy has repeatedly asked the allies to provide more Patriot batteries. In April 2025, he explicitly stated that

“Patriot systems, which are just lying in warehouses somewhere with partners, must protect lives [in Ukraine].”

Kyiv requested an additional 7 batteries back in 2024, emphasizing that many countries “sit on large stocks of Patriot” but are hesitant to transfer them. The same idea was voiced by the then-Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte, who suggested that if a country does not want to give the systems directly, the Netherlands is ready to buy Patriot from it and transfer it to Ukraine – funds are reserved for this purpose. In response to Ukraine’s requests, NATO created a so-called air defense coalition coordinated by Germany. Former Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that Germany, as the head of this coalition, initiated an analysis of existing Patriot missiles around the world – where and how many batteries are available, and which ones can be taken off duty and transferred to Ukraine.

As a result, the potential “donor pool” has been narrowed down to a few countries that meet the criteria: a sufficient number of systems, political support for Ukraine, the technical ability to allocate some of the systems without critically weakening their own defense, and positive experience in military assistance to Ukraine.

The United States of America

The United States, a key arms supplier to Ukraine, has already delivered 2 Patriot batteries (the first in April 2023 and the second in late 2024) and continues to train Ukrainian forces. Given the largest Patriot fleet, it is Washington that has the largest reserve for further deliveries. According to sources, the US government approved a program to transfer additional Patriot systems to Ukraine during the presidency of Joe Biden, and it is still ongoing (despite the change of administration).

American Patriot systems deployed in other regions are sometimes redirected to meet current threats – for example, in 2023, several batteries were temporarily redeployed from Asia to the Middle East in response to the crisis in the region. There is a possibility that some of the US’s 60 or so batteries could be permanently allocated to Ukraine, for example, from among those in rotation or storage.

In April 2025, the media reported that the United States had agreed to transfer one Patriot system based in Israel to Ukraine – this old battery is currently being removed, restored, and is expected to arrive in Ukraine in the summer. Earlier, in January, it was reported that the United States had already withdrawn 90 MIM-104 anti-aircraft missiles from warehouses in Israel and shipped them to Europe for the needs of Ukraine. Thus, the United States is actually acting as a center for redistributing Patriot resources to Ukraine in coordination with third countries.

However, the rhetoric and actions of Trump and his team leave little hope that Patriot will come to Ukraine from the United States. It seems that Rubio’s words that the United States is looking for Patriot for Ukraine among its allies mark the maximum assistance that they are willing to provide today.

Germany

Berlin, after some hesitation, has become one of the leaders in providing Ukraine with air defense systems. Germany transferred 2 Patriot batteries to Ukraine: the first one jointly with the Netherlands in 2023, and the second one as part of the spring aid package in 2024. The Bundeswehr’s own fleet is about 10-12 batteries, and so far the government has not officially announced its intention to reduce it for the sake of Ukraine. However, the German-led initiative to analyze global Patriot stockpiles indicates its willingness to look for additional systems even beyond traditional allies.

The press has also reported that the United States has offered Germany to consider the transfer of another Patriot system to Ukraine, along with the involvement of Greece. It is possible that Berlin could donate a third battery, especially given that the new 3 systems will be delivered to the Bundeswehr under contracts in 2023. Politically, Germany’s support for Ukraine is very high, and the issue of air defense is in the spotlight (remember that it was Germany that gave Ukraine the first IRIS-T and coordinates the “offensive” coalition of fighters). Therefore, an additional Patriot from Germany is quite realistic, although it will require NATO approval.

The Netherlands

Since the first days of the war, the Netherlands has been actively helping Ukraine, although it has limited capabilities. The country decided to use its only existing Patriot system in a joint mission with Germany: in 2023, The Hague handed over a part of the Patriot battery to Ukraine, including the AN/MPQ-65 radar and three launchers. These components complemented the German complex, effectively creating a joint battery for the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The Netherlands could not provide a second complete battery on its own, so Prime Minister Rutte proposed a creative approach: buying Patriots from third countries (which do not want to be “exposed”) and sending them to Ukraine. This proposal apparently applies primarily to non-NATO partners, such as Qatar or Saudi Arabia. On the financial side, The Hague is ready to cover the costs (the Netherlands has reserved 4 billion euros for military assistance to Ukraine in 2024-2025). Thus, the Netherlands is a kind of “transit donor” of Patriot: it has few stocks of its own, but it has the political will and money to get the systems for Ukraine from outside.

Romania

Romania became one of the unexpected new donors to Patriot. In 2017, this country ordered seven Patriot PAC-3 batteries from the United States for about $4 billion, the first of which will be on duty in 2020-2021. It would seem that Bucharest was supposed to keep all the systems to cover the border with Ukraine and the Black Sea coast. However, at the beginning of 2024, one of the newly arrived batteries was transferred to Ukraine, as confirmed by Ukrainian sources, who called this step “almost impossible, but it was done.” Romania probably temporarily gave up the system in favor of its neighbor, hoping to quickly receive compensation in the form of another battery from the United States or allies. Politically, Romania is fully on the side of Ukraine; the incidents with Russian drones crashing on its territory have only strengthened the determination to strengthen Ukrainian air defense. Thus, Romania’s example shows that even countries with a small Patriot fleet are willing to take risks to close the gap in NATO’s eastern flank.

Greece

At the end of April 2025, Greek media reported that the United States insisted on transferring Greek Patriots to Ukraine, which Athens had previously deployed in Saudi Arabia. This is probably about 1 PAC-2 battery. The Greek government officially responded to Reuters that

“there is no question of supplying Patriot to Ukraine”,

citing its own defense needs and tense relations with Turkey.

Indeed, Athens has traditionally been cautious about the transfer of heavy weapons – for example, it previously refused to give Kyiv Russian S-300s until a replacement was found. However, diplomatic pressure from Washington may eventually change this position. Greece has already shown that it is capable of sharing air defense systems: its Patriot battery protected Saudi facilities in 2021-2022, meaning that one system is not critically irreplaceable. If the United States guarantees Athens cover (for example, by deploying an American battery on Greek territory or by other means), at least one Greek Patriot may well end up in Ukraine. Politically, Greece supports Ukraine in international organizations, although it does not advertise this through its domestic audience. Its participation in the supply of Patriots would be a strong signal of NATO’s unity.

Other possible donors

Non-traditional sources are also being considered. In particular, Israel, although not directly supplying weapons, has, as mentioned above, agreed to allow the United States to take back its decommissioned Patriot systems. Israel’s PAC-2 batteries are gradually being decommissioned (all four of them as of June 2024), so instead of being disposed of, their elements may be useful to Ukraine. In January 2025, 90 Israeli Patriot interceptor missiles were transferred to Ukraine (through the mediation of the United States and Poland). This is a precedent that could pave the way for the transfer of launchers and radars after the necessary repairs.

Another potential destination is the Arab states of the Persian Gulf. Some of them have significant stockpiles of Patriot (for example, Saudi Arabia – up to 25 batteries, Qatar – up to 6) and are not currently experiencing an acute shortage, especially after the tension in Yemen has eased. At the same time, their relations with Russia are rather neutral, and they have not yet made any direct arms deliveries to Ukraine. However, a buy-back or exchange scenario is possible: for example, if the United States or Germany agree to sell new systems to these countries faster, they could transfer some of their older systems to Ukraine. Saudi Arabia and the UAE have already helped Ukraine financially and humanitarianly; the issue of military assistance is only a matter of political will and backroom deals. It is possible that the US will try to attract Patriot from this region as part of diplomatic packages.

Conclusion

The list of countries capable of sharing Patriot is limited, but is gradually expanding. So far, the main burden is borne by the United States, Germany, the Netherlands, and (unexpectedly) Romania. The Israeli complex, via the United States, is on the way. Other NATO members (Greece, Spain in the future after receiving new systems, Poland after building up its own fleet) and some partners in the Middle East have the potential. According to NATO, the allies have a “significant number” of Patriots that can be used to strengthen Ukrainian air defense. Ukraine’s task is to politically and technically ensure that these capabilities are realized, because every additional Patriot battery means lives and critical infrastructure saved.

What does the Patriot system consist of and what is transferred during export

The structure of the Patriot battery

A single Patriot system is not a single launcher or missile, but a whole unit of many components. A standard Patriot battery consists of six main elements

1. interceptor missiles (MIM-104 of various modifications)
2. launchers (self-propelled launchers on trucks);
3. radar (AN/MPQ-53 antenna or modernized AN/MPQ-65/65A with a phased array for target detection);
4. fire control station (ECS – Engagement Control Station, battery command center);
5. electric generator sets for power supply;
6. an antenna-mast communication complex for data exchange with higher command and between batteries.

All these components are placed on separate machines and work in a single unit. A battery requires a staff of about 90 soldiers and officers to deploy.

A typical Patriot battery includes 4 to 8 launchers. Each launcher carries containers with missiles: the standard PAC-2 missile is in an individual container (one for each launcher), and the more modern PAC-3 MSE is smaller, so 4 such missiles can be placed in one container. Thus, one unit can carry, for example, 4 PAC-2 missiles or up to 16 PAC-3 missiles. The Patriot radar simultaneously tracks targets and guides missiles, while the control center processes the information and issues launch commands. The battery also has support vehicles, missile charging transporters and other infrastructure.

Export and transfer as part of assistance

When Patriot is sold abroad, a complete battery is usually transferred: radar, command post, a certain number of launchers (often 4-6), communication and power supply vehicles, and a launch package of interceptor missiles. For example, when exported to Kuwait, 4 radars and 20 launchers were delivered along with a batch of PAC-2/PAC-3 missiles, which corresponds to four batteries. When selling to Qatar, 11 Patriot batteries in the PAC-3 configuration were claimed, with a large stock of missiles (246 GEM-T and 786 PAC-3). This indicates that the battery is the main Patriot export unit, and the number of missiles can reach several hundred per country.

In the case of military assistance to Ukraine, different approaches are used. When the United States or Germany transfer Patriot from their arsenals, it is a complete battery. For example, the complex received by Ukraine from the United States included all the necessary equipment and, according to reports, about 192 PAC-3 MSE missiles (12 launchers of 16 missiles each) in the launch kit. The German-Dutch battery consisted of a German radar, a control center, and most of the launchers, supplemented by a Dutch radar and three launchers, to form a complete combat unit. In some cases, donor countries share parts of the system: for example, Spain said it could not give an entire battery (it has only three), but instead gave Ukraine a batch of Patriot missiles from its warehouses. Similarly, the Netherlands, as mentioned, provided a partial battery. Such a modular approach is possible due to the standardization of Patriot between the allies – the equipment is compatible and can be combined.

What Ukraine gets

With the transfer of each Patriot battery, Ukraine also receives interceptor missiles (usually modern PAC-3 MSE for missile defense, as well as a certain number of PAC-2 GEM-T for aerodynamic purposes). However, the volume of missiles is limited, and their stockpile needs to be constantly replenished as they are used in combat. Already, Ukraine is facing a situation where missile consumption is outstripping deliveries.

“The commander calls and says: we have run out of Patriot missiles near such and such a city, we have used them all,”

– zelensky said in February.

This means that getting a battery is only half the battle, and then it is critical to ensure a stable supply channel for missiles. The partners are trying to solve this: they are increasing production (as mentioned, Raytheon is increasing production to hundreds of missiles a year), withdrawing from their own reserves (the case of Israel’s 90 missiles), and even involving private companies in the procurement of components.

Conclusion

The Patriot system is a high-tech multi-component system worth more than $1 billion per battery, capable of covering 50 to 100 km² of territory from a simultaneous air strike by an enemy. Each battery contains all the necessary elements for autonomous operation, but the effectiveness of air defense is determined not only by the number of batteries but also by the availability of sufficient ammunition.

Ukraine has already managed to obtain several of these “shields,” integrate them into its air defense system, and even master their use against the most difficult targets. Further strengthening of Ukrainian skies will depend on the willingness of allies to “share” their Patriots and the ability of the global defense industry to meet the growing demand for these systems. Given the experience of 2022-2024, we can be cautiously optimistic that the impossible is becoming possible – it is only a matter of time and political will. Ukraine has made it clear that “Patriots lying in warehouses must work,” and the world is gradually responding to this call.

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