News Excerpt: 

Germany agreed to send a Patriot air-defense system to Ukraine,  as well as air-defense missiles for existing systems.”

About Patriot air-defense system: 

• The MIM-104 PATRIOT (Phased Array Tracking Radar to Intercept on Target) air defense complex was introduced into service with the U.S. Army in the early 1980s. 
• It is a theater-wide surface-to-air missile defense system built by Raytheon Technologies Corp and is considered one of the most advanced air defense systems in the U.S. arsenal.
• The system was first used in combat during the 1991 Gulf War, with batteries protecting Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Israel, and later used during the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003.
•  Its latest modification, called PAC-3, is designed to engage and intercept targets at altitudes of up to 24 km. 
  • Newer variants of Patriot are capable of engaging ballistic and cruise missiles, loitering munitions, and aircraft. 
  • A typical Patriot battery includes a radar set, engagement control station, power generation and other support vehicles, and several launch stations. 
    • 18 countries currently operate Patriot.
• The main feature of the latest PATRIOT modification is its ability to shoot down ballistic missiles (including Iskanders, which Russia uses to attack Ukraine), as well as Kinzhals (Russian hypersonic air-launched missiles) and Zircons (a Russian hypersonic anti-ship missile)
• The PATRIOT uses advanced interceptor missiles and highly effective radar systems. The main functions of the system are four:
  • Connection,
  • command and control
  • radar surveillance
  • missile guidance

Features: 

• It is a mobile system that usually includes powerful radar, a control station, a power generator, launch stations and other support vehicles.
• The installations are highly mobile, and a single battery can be deployed in less than an hour. 
• Its system components are moved on trucks or trailers.
• One Patriot PAC-3 launcher is designed for 4 MIM-104 missiles of various types, including GEM-T missiles (with advanced guidance systems) or 16 ERINT missiles (extended-range interceptors). 
• • At the same time, a single PATRIOT battery can contain up to 8 launchers.
• The average effective range of a PATRIOT launcher is 150 km. 
• The air defence system can track targets moving at speeds of up to 2,200 m/s at a distance of up to 180 km.
• The system has different capabilities depending on the type of interceptor used.
  • The PAC-2 interceptor uses a blast-fragmentation warhead,
  • while the newer PAC-3 missile uses more advanced hit-to-kill technology.