Around 90 MIM-104E PAC-2 Patriot missiles are included in a U.S.-facilitated transfer approved in September 2024, according to media reports published on Jan. 28, 2025.
Axios reporter Barak Ravid revealed the news, which was corroborated by three sources before publication. Israel previously announced the retirement of their Patriot missile systems in April 2024 as their forces focus on the newer locally developed David’s Sling.
The idea of procuring these missiles was said to come from Ukraine, who approached U.S. and Israeli officials following the retirement. Negotiations proceeded until late September, when Axios’ source claims the deal was approved by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Netanyahu was reportedly seeking the assurance that groups of Israeli Jews would be permitted to travel to Ukraine on a traditional religious pilgrimage, but Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky would not issue his approval until the Patriot deal was finalized. Netanyahu, in turn, refused to take calls on the matter of the missile deal for several weeks, somewhat delaying the overall process.
The Patriot’s transfer to Ukraine
No official statement from the U.S. has been forthcoming, but several flights of U.S. Air Force C-17A Globemaster IIIs have been noted in recent days travelling between Nevatim Air Base, Israel, and Rzeszów Airport, Poland. Rzeszów, in Eastern Poland near the Ukraine border, has become famous as a hub for shipments bound for Ukraine. The airport has been reinforced by fighter aircraft patrols and surface to air missile batteries.
Earlier today, a USAF C-17 transport flew from Ramstein Airbase in Germany to Nevatim Airbase in Israel, before flying directly to Rzeszow International Airport, the gateway for western aid headed to Ukraine.
The C-17 spent roughly 3 hours on the ground in Israel. pic.twitter.com/28N0WlUr4r
— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) January 23, 2025
Since the Patriot transfer news broke, it has been theorized by many online commentators that these C-17 flights were involved in transporting these missiles. Certainly, their flight paths would match for the U.S. facilitated transfer of supplies between Israel and Ukraine.
Ukraine’s first Patriot battery was approved for delivery in December 2022 following many requests by Ukraine both to the U.S. and to European Patriot operators. Since then, it has increased its force to several batteries. They have a proven track record, defeating high tier threats like Sukhoi Su-35 Flanker-E fighters, and Su-34 Fullback strike fighters. Ukrainian forces have also been able to use the missiles to successfully engage and destroy Russian Kinzhal missiles. Russian sources had previously boasted about the hypersonic missile’s ‘invincibility’.
The high operational tempo of the war, with Russia regularly attacking Ukraine with large wings of aircraft and salvos of missiles, has rapidly depleted Ukraine’s stocks of air defense missiles – Patriot included. A single attack could see dozens of interceptor missiles launched in response. In 2024, the U.S. committed itself to expediting the delivery of Patriot missile ammunition. Many other operators are now running short on their own supplies following previous donations, and are understandably concerned about the risk of leaving their own forces under-equipped.
Composition of a Patriot Battery
A Patriot battery comprises several launchers linked together by either a AN/MPQ-53/65 passive electronically scanned array (PESA) or an AN/MPQ-65A active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar. Personnel operate the battery from an Engagement Control Station (ECS). The ECS is truck mounted, as are the diesel generators and communication masts that complete the battery.
The first versions of Patriot were deployed in the early 1980s, but newer variants have introduced significant upgrades which will likely see it remain in U.S. service through 2040. The latest PAC-3 MSE (Patriot Advanced Capability-3 Missile Segment Enhancement) model, which is known to have been sent to Ukraine, upped the PAC-3 missile’s maximum height to 118,000 feet.
While Israel’s Patriot stocks were of the PAC-2 variant, they are equipped with the Guidance Enhanced Missile upgrade (GEM-T). The PAC-2 GEM-T remains in production alongside the PAC-3 MSE. Compared to the active radar homing PAC-3, which has an onboard radar seeker, the PAC-2 utilizes semi-active radar homing, which passively analyses the radar returns from the emissions of an external radar transmitter. PAC-2 has a traditional high explosive warhead with a proximity detonation capability, while PAC-3 is a kinetic hit-to-kill interceptor with only a small explosive ‘lethality enhancer’ charge.
The PAC-3 is thought to perform stronger against ballistic missile threats, while the PAC-2 remains specialized as an anti-aircraft and cruise missile weapon. Overall, it is beneficial to Ukraine to have stocks of any Patriot variant, as the capability level of a missile fired can be matched according to the threat level of the target.
Israeli Patriot batteries began operations in 1991, though did not see a combat launch until the 2014 Gaza War. A drone, which Israel claims was launched by Hamas from the Gaza Strip, was intercepted by a single Patriot missile near Ashdod. 18 further interceptions were made by Israeli Patriot missiles, which includes nine launches during the Israel-Hamas War that began on Oct. 7, 2023. Between these conflicts, the system had been used on two occasions to shoot down Syrian Air Force fighter aircraft which apparently breached Israeli airspace.
The system had not operated without fault, and a well-reported incident in 2016 saw two separate Patriot missile launches fail to destroy an unidentified drone. Israel’s Patriot replacement, David’s Sling, entered service the following year.
David’s Sling uses a two-stage interceptor missile with both radar and imaging infra-red (IIR)/electro-optical tracking capabilities. The latter was reportedly developed using technology from the advanced Python 5 air to air missile. It sits in the middle of Israel’s air defense capabilities, leaving the famous Iron Dome (and, soon, Iron Beam) for short range threats, and the Arrow 2 and Arrow 3 for dedicated ballistic missile defense.
