The Israeli Air Force is determined to decommission all Patriot surface-to-air missile batteries within the next few months. The IDF command has officially announced the decision, noting that all the fire units will be put out of operation within the next eight weeks, that is, by the end of June 2024.
"The Patriot is an old system that is challenging to maintain, so we are currently in the process of reducing the batteries until the entire system is closed," explains Patriot Battalion commander, Lt. Col. Matan. "We need to move forward and improve our defense methods," he said adding that Patriots will be replaced by more advanced air defense equipment.
Read more: Considering Supplying David's Sling to Ukraine: A Potential Alternative to Patriot and SAMP/T Systems
Although it might seem that "obsolete," is not exactly how Patriot is widely perceived, Israel has the reason to think so. Particularly because as of early 2024, the Israeli Air Force had four batteries equipped with Patriot PAC-2 modernization of this system. Those were obtained from the United States in 1990 at a significant discount, "gifted" as the IDF says themselves. Since then, the Israeli Patriots did not get the PAC-3 upgrade which makes it an almost completely different system employing the next-level hit-to-kill technology for intercepting ballistic missiles, and remained in the MIM-104D (PAC-2/GEM+) version.
Throughout years of service, as specified in the IDF statement, Patriots only partook in downing of 19 targets in total, 9 of which over the past half-year. The first combat engagement took place in 2014 to destroy a drone, and it was used mostly against drones onward, too.
In Israel's conditions, with little threat coming from the enemy's manned aviation, the upkeep of Patriots might be actually unnecessary. Upgrading it to the PAC-3 version is not an optimal choice either as it means being dependent on MSE ammunition.
After all, Israel has an anti-missile defense solution of its own, called the David's Sling system, with superior specifications and a more powerful and cheaper Stunner interceptor. By the way, David's Sling derivative called SkyCeptor will be integrated into the new Patriot PAAC-4 version of the American system.
The personnel who used to operate Patriots are now being actively trained on other equipment, including the Iron Dome. The process began back in February 2024.
Despite no further need in those Patriot units, the chances of them ending up in Ukraine are slim. Due to the political stance, not just arms supplies from Israel, even re-export of its weapons is being silently blocked by Jerusalem. The only viable option is that the United States buy all of those systems back and transfer them via tangled exchange procedures.
For example, Washington could queue these four batteries for modernization and thus spare a few units from the Pentagon's inventory. Alternatively, jand them over to Spain or Greece, which in turn should transfer their own to Ukraine, as both these countries already operate a similar version of PAC-2.
Still, these options would require Israel's consent. Moreover, Greece has repeatedly refused to give its Patriots over, while Spain is ready to allocate only missiles but not the systems.
Read more: Germany "Immediately" Sends Patriot to Ukraine – Pistorius
