Patriot Air Defense in Ukraine or America’s War on Iran
Ukraine and its President Volodymyr Zelenskiy have been actively campaigning for months for the US and its allies to send the most effective MIM-104 Patriot air defense systems to counter the threat. and the civilian population of the country.
As the attacks continue with more or less success, and as winter sweeps across the country, the country’s energy infrastructure is more and more in danger of failing every day, and they seem on the verge of success.
According to CNN, the United States will thereby finalize the plan to send these valuable systems to Kiev, which have been extensively tested in Iraq or especially in Afghanistan. According to the American press, the only thing missing is the signature of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, and then Joe Biden’s imprimatur to allow the transfer of advanced technologies to Ukraine, as sensitive as the country is.
A few days ago, Andriy Yermak, one of the right-hand men of the Ukrainian president, posted a tweet that was both cryptic and open to all interpretations, but ultimately quite clear, indicating that the negotiations are on the right track.
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—Andriy Yermak (@AndriyYermak) December 11, 2022
As noted by CNN and other media outlets that have captured the information, such as The War Zone, there remains some mystery as to what might be announced. Used by dozens of US allies such as Germany, Japan or Israel, the Patriot is extremely rare in the world, including in the inventory of the US Army, the only American body that operates it.
It is unclear where the units transferred to Kiev will come from and what the exact components will be – the latest dispute between Germany and Poland over one of these valuable devices offered by Berlin, but which Warsaw wants to offer directly to Kiev.
Manned by about a hundred soldiers, the system is complex and consists of an AN/MPQ-65 radar responsible for detecting and monitoring threats to be destroyed, computer systems responsible for data analysis, power generators, a control station and up to eight anti-aircraft guns. rocket launchers.
Iran is obvious
The Patriot, a purely defensive system, and its possible arrival in Ukraine, of course, angers the Kremlin, which has already explained that anti-missile shields would be a “legitimate target” for its military if installed in the sky. .
It will likely take several weeks, perhaps months, for the Patriots to be operational in Ukraine, as it may take some time for Kyiv troops to train to work with its multiple elements, but it is already planned at the Grafenwoehr base in Germany. The Americans contacted CNN.
The expected arrival of the Patriots in the conflict is too late to save Ukraine and its people from a hellish winter, thus avoiding the mass migrations that the Kremlin expects to destabilize Western Europe.
However, this constitutes a fairly clear change in the nature of war, which is expanding on an international scale. In a way, by giving or allowing the delivery of the Patriot to Ukraine, Washington is continuing its fight against Russia from afar, but also strengthening its fight against Iran. Patriots are already being used in various countries of the Middle East, especially in Saudi Arabia, to counter Iranian threats in the region.
According to the United States, Moscow is trying to slightly strengthen the technical and military support that Tehran has provided to it for several months. As already described “unseen” – missiles and suicide drones have already been ordered and delivered en masse – helping Russia to bombard Ukraine with a variety of missiles it can no longer produce itself.
Thus, Moscow will seek to acquire a significant stockpile of ballistic missiles from Iran, particularly the Fateh-101, to continue its campaign of systematic destruction of its neighbor. As for its population, these purchases are a cause for concern, despite Tehran’s self-imposed limits on the range of missiles delivered, fearing too strong an international backlash.
But if Kyiv had the ability to destroy these missiles before they posed a serious threat, Moscow’s entire current strategy would be disrupted. Condemned to silence in the air, the woman, according to British intelligence, would have to prove again on the ground what she could no longer do and could not do again.
