The United Kingdom has joined the search for additional air defense systems for Ukraine, primarily the MIM-104 Patriot surface-to-air systems. This was announced by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba after a conversation with his British counterpart David Cameron.
"We coordinated next steps to find and deliver additional air defense systems, first and foremost 'Patriots', to Ukraine. I appreciate David's proactive approach aimed at getting things done," Kuleba claimed.
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It should be noted that Germany initiated the "air defense coalition" for Ukraine, searching for Patriot and other SAM systems. But Berlin's position in some of the world's arms markets does not help much.
For instance, Saudi Arabia could become a hypothetical donor of Patriot systems for Ukraine. According to various sources, the country has 18-25 batteries in its arsenal (including PAC-2 and PAC-3 versions). But the problem is that Germany has been blocking the sale of 48 Eurofighter Typhoons multirole fighters to Riyadh since 2018.
In this case, London's diplomatic channels and its position on the arms market may be much more effective. And in case with Saudi Arabia, it is the United Kingdom that actively supplies arms to this country. The UK have provided Saudi Arabia with arms by more than £10 billion for the past 10 years.
In addition, the United Kingdom is a manufacturer of air defense systems that are already used by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. There are such weapons as little-known AIM-132 ASRAAM launcher. Besides the UK also manufactures SAM systems with CAMM missiles known as Sky Sabre.
Earlier Defense Express reported about considering of supplying David's Sling to Ukraine which is a potential alternative to Patriot and SAMP/T systems.
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