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The Epic With the German Patriots for Ukraine is Over, They Will Be Deployed in Poland

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The main task of the Patriot is the protection of air bases / Photo credit: US DoD
The main task of the Patriot is the protection of air bases / Photo credit: US DoD

Despite Warsaw's proposal to deploy German Patriot air defense systems in Ukraine, they will be deployed on NATO's eastern flank

Patriot anti-aircraft missile complexes became the subject of a real epic, which resembled a game of tennis. It all started after the fall of a missile on the territory of Poland and Berlin's proposal to place them on NATO's eastern flank.

In particular, Germany last month offered Poland the Patriot system to help secure its airspace after a stray missile crashed and killed two people in Poland.

Read more: Ukraine Can Receive Patriot SAM from the United States – Media
The Epic With the German Patriots for Ukraine is Over, They Will Be Deployed in Poland, Defense Express

Later The minister of National defense of Poland Mariusz Blaszczak asked Germany to send the fire units to Ukraine instead, Reuters reported.

Now Poland is preparing to deploy the German Patriot air defense system on its territory, after Berlin refused to place the system in Ukraine.That is according the latest twit of Poland’s defense minister on his Twitter.

“After talking to the German defense ministry, I was disappointed to accept the decision to reject Ukraine’s support. Deploying the Patriots to the western Ukraine would increase the security of Poles and Ukrainians,” Blaszczak tweeted on Tuesday evening.

“So we proceed to working arrangements for placing the launchers in Poland and connecting them to our command system.”

Ground-based air defence systems such as Raytheon's (RTX.N) Patriot are built to intercept incoming missiles.

But the systems are in short supply in NATO since, after the Cold War, many NATO allies scaled down their number to reflect the assessment that they would, from now on, only have to deal with a limited missile threat coming from countries such as Iran.

Patriot Integrated Air and Missile Defense System, The Epic With the German Patriots for Ukraine is Over, They Will Be Deployed in Poland, Defense Express
Patriot Integrated Air and Missile Defense System

This perception changed drastically with Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which sent NATO allies scrambling to increase stocks of ammunition and tackle air defence system shortfalls.

Germany had 36 Patriot units when it was NATO's frontline state during the Cold War and even then it relied on support from NATO allies. Today, the German forces are down to 12 Patriot units, two of which are deployed to Slovakia.

As Defense Express reported, The Pentagon Explained Why the F-16, Abrams And Patriot Not Transferred to Ukraine Yet.

Read more: US Sending Ukraine Another $400M in New Security Aid Providing anti-UAV Machine Guns, Ammunition for HIMARS, NASAMS and More