Posted on 06/11/2023 1:23:51 PM PDT by DUMBGRUNT
Air-defense system is finally doing what it was designed for, 40 years later
The missiles were coursing toward Kyiv, some as fast as six times the speed of sound and many heading directly for the crew’s missile battery. The Ukrainians didn’t panic, their commander said in an interview. They didn’t have time.
Early that morning, May 16, the Patriot’s radar detected the missiles, including six Kinzhals, at a distance of about 125 miles. The system’s computer tracked the missiles and launched interceptors, destroying all of them, the last at a distance of about 9 miles—seconds before impact. “No one was 100% sure that the Patriot was capable of destroying a Kh-47 hypersonic missile,” said Col. Serhiy Yaremenko, commander of the 96th Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade, which defends Kyiv. “Ukrainians proved it.”
...Russian officials criticized the U.S. and allies on the decision to send Patriots, but said they wouldn’t be able to stop Russian missiles. Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissed the Patriot in December as “quite an old system.” “Fine, let them deliver it,” he told reporters. “We’ll smack the Patriot as well.”
(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...
https://youtu.be/RDJgQErMSdA
The patriot missile DOESN’T work, though. But we still shouldn’t be wasting them in Ukraine.
The Patriot has always been a capable system but it is not sustainable for modern warfare like we are seeing in the Ukraine based on a quick search of the economics.
When a system cost 10 million and each missile is 4 million and you are being forced to use it to shoot down drones that can range from 10-20k each up to a couple of million so a nation might be wrecked financially in a prolonged conflict.
The Iron Dome system (from Israel) averages out at about 50k a shot so it is far more affordable and sustainable although it lacks the range of the Patriot system.
The US government will continue to send missiles until we have none left because it takes forever to replenish them nor does our nation have the capacity for a prolonged conflict because we cannot make all these diamond plated smart munitions fast enough.
Meanwhile, Russia will continue to launch cheaper strikes mixed in with their diamond plated smart munitions so they have the advantage.
The S400 and the newer system (S500) has the same economic problem to a great extent as they are not cheap either.
—”The patriot missile DOESN’T work”
Is that so?
Pls, elaborate on your statement.
Putin had the same opinion but has since sent his hypersonic missile designers to the Gulag.
And that says a lot.
Nobody is going to waste a hypersonic missile by using regular munitions. If they had used a hypersonic missile, the world would have seen a mushroom cloud.
The objective of a defensive system isn’t to shoot down opposing aircraft. The objective is to protect your valuable targets. Therefore, the best cost comparison is whether your protected target is worth the cost of the missile used to protect it.
—”There are very few aircraft in the Russian air force that are more valuable than the Patriot missile used to shoot them down.”
What sort of military aircraft costs less than four million?
YES!!! The Russian ones that, have already fallen from the sky.
PATRIOT interceptors are estimated to cost about $4 million per missile. https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/IF/IF12297#:~:text=PATRIOT%20System%20Costs&text=PATRIOT%20interceptors%20are%20estimated%20to%20cost%20about%20%244%20million%20per%20missile.
—”When a system cost 10 million and each missile is 4 million and you are being forced to use it to shoot down drones that can range from 10-20k each...”
The Patriot systems have only been operational for about four weeks.
Ukraine: The German-made anti-aircraft gun taking down Russian drones
Ukraine’s Air Force says Ukraine unlikely to run out of Patriot missiles
Ukraine is very unlikely to run out of missiles for US-made Patriot missile systems, even in light of extensive Russian missile strikes in the recent months.
Source: Yurii Ihnat, spokesman for Ukraine’s Air Force, in an interview with Ukrainska Pravda
Patriot is not being used to target slow moving Iranian drones - that is the work for auto cannon (14.5/23 mm) Uks have worked out targeting system based on tablet computer to aim the guns
Patriots are used to knock down high speed missiles
Ukraine Situation Report: Spent Patriot Missile Narrowly Misses Kyiv Motorists
New video shows the air defense munition falling between cars during Monday’s Russian cruise and ballistic missile barrage on Kyiv.
I don’t dispute what you say but there were several news stories (mostly Euro outlets) saying that the initial wave of high speed missiles were accompanied by a wave of drones and many very expensive Western SAM’s were launched against the drones.
It is very hard to find reliable information about anything “Ukraine” but “rockets” are not that expensive so if you launched a bunch of cheap unguided dumb rockets with range along with your diamond plated guided ones it would be a win if the systems targeted the cheap ones.
Update on Ukrainian Conflict for June 10, 2023:
- Ukraine’s long-awaited offensive has begun, including all types of NATO-provided armor and weapons;
- Visual evidence is emerging of burning Leopard 2 tanks, US Bradley fighting vehicles, and other equipment as Ukraine struggles to punch through Russia’s security zone and reach its first defensive lines;
- Both Western and Russian sources are reporting heavy Ukrainian losses;
- Since Ukraine’s fall offensives last year, Russia has mobilized 300,000 additional troops and established multiple layers of defenses;
- Regardless of Ukraine’s performance, NATO does not have the ability to supply Ukraine with the equipment and ammunition to sustain operations for any length of time or to hold gained territory against a Russian counter-offensive;
Follow Alex and Alexander of The Duran for daily updates regarding Ukraine:
I am fascinated by some of the news reports and pundit commentary who insist that a Ukrainian failure means that a long, stalemated war is the likely outcome. That opinion is so stupid and so divorced from reality that it beggars the mind in trying to come up with an explanation for such nonsense. Ukraine is running out of critical weapons, such as artillery, tanks, and fixed wing aircraft — and these losses are accelerating — and Kiev has no good prospects for replacing them. Ukraine also is running out of trained manpower. How does one continue to pursue a stagnant war when the very things you require to conduct and sustain such a war are in short supply and becoming more scarce?
The Ukrainian offensive is entering its eighth day and the only things Zelensky and his generals have to show for the effort are piles of bodies and smoldering tanks and armored personnel carriers.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/16/politics/patriot-missile-damage-ukraine/index.html
https://twitter.com/KimDotcom/status/1658342630185660417
… until Raytheon runs out of lobbyists.
here’s a video you might enjoy
patriot firing in Kiev
the big boom about 1:30 is impressive
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oepttcw5fMQ
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