How Patriots overcome new tactics to evade Russian missiles
28 May 01:27
Despite Russia’s advanced tactics and attempts to circumvent the interception system, the US Patriot air defense missile systems remain effective in the fight against Russian ballistic missiles. This was reported by the spokesman for the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Yuriy Ihnat in a commentary for Babel
Patriot intercepts most attacks
According to Ihnat, during recent attacks, the Ukrainian military successfully destroyed six of the nine ballistic missiles launched by Russia. At the same time, Russia is using a new tactic: missiles are shifting to the left or right in the final part of the flight, which should complicate the work of the interception system.
“Despite these maneuvers, Patriot automatically calculates the flight path and the point of rendezvous of the missile,” Ihnat emphasized.
Russian tactics: false traps and variable trajectories
In addition to shifting the missile to the side, Russia uses other means to complicate interception. In particular, it is launching false targets – up to six simultaneously. Such traps are meant to distract air defense systems, but Ihnat says Ukrainian forces have already adapted to this tactic.
“This is not a new technology – it has been used for over a year. It does not make Patriot powerless,” noted the Air Force spokesman.
Earlier, Ihnat told how the Air Defense of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is preparing for missile and shakedown attacks.
Ukraine expands cooperation with Raytheon
Against the backdrop of intensified attacks, Ukraine is actively cooperating with the American defense contractor Raytheon Technologies, which is a manufacturer of Patriot systems. Kyiv provides investment opportunities and seeks to expand the partnership to strengthen air defense.
Ukraine is currently in dire need of additional Patriot batteries and interceptors to protect civilian infrastructure, energy facilities and civilians from regular missile attacks and kamikaze drones from Russia.
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 met with the position that “we need such a system ourselves.”
Therefore, Kommersant 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 Ukraine can actually get. If at all.
