Ukraine fired 30 Patriots

Ukraine fired 30 Patriots

In late April 2023, the Zelenskiy government finally received the long-awaited "Patriot" air defense system and threatened Kiev An "indestructible protective umbrella" will be raised in the sky.

And this American-made advanced air defense system did a good job, and it was revealed that it successfully intercepted Russia's "Dagger" hypersonic weapon. But the "Patriots" who have participated in the war for a month seem to have fallen off the altar...

With reference to news reports, the Russian Ministry of Defense stated that the Russian army used a "Dagger" hypersonic missile to destroy a set of "Patriot" air defense system. In this regard, the US media also confirmed this, admitting that the "Patriot" anti-aircraft missile positions deployed in Ukraine were hit and suffered losses.

It seems that in this round of competition between "Dagger" and "Patriot", the former has finally found its place and has not allowed the myth of the "Patriot" system to continue.

In fact, as far as this matter is concerned, it is normal for "patriots" to lose their "indestructible golden body". After all, there is no absolutely perfect and invincible weapon in the world. Where there is a spear, there must be a shield. , the contest between spear and shield has always been mutually beneficial.

But what is really worth noting is that the Ukrainian army's use of "patriot" is really shocking. It is estimated that even the US military has to shout "good guy".

The reason is simple. The sophisticated, advanced and extremely expensive US-made air defense missile system has been used by the Ukrainian army as a "rocket launcher".

Judging from videos leaked in Ukraine, on the night the "Patriot" system deployed in Kiev was attacked, it was being operated by the Ukrainian army's air defense forces to fight off air attacks from Russian fighter planes and missiles. In just over 2 minutes, the "Patriot" air defense position fired up to 30 anti-aircraft missiles in succession. This firing frequency and firepower density were absolutely "crazy."

Let’s do some math here. Judging from the U.S. public arms procurement list for fiscal year 2023, the price of a "Patriot-3" anti-aircraft missile is approximately US$5.275 million.

The Ukrainian army poured as many as 30 "Patriots" into the air, which was comparable to multiple rocket launchers. It took 2 minutes to throw out 158 ??million US dollars. This kind of "money-burning" The intensity is probably something that even the US military would not dare to imitate easily.

The most terrible thing is that at the end of the battle, this "Patriot" air defense position was overrun by the Russian army. I have to say that the Ukrainian army is really a bit "romantic". Could it be that they really thought that the West Is military aid free of charge?

In this regard, Ukrainian officials stated that the "Patriot" system successfully intercepted 18 Russian missiles before it was destroyed, which was the most "shocking" The twist is that Ukraine claimed that 6 of the 18 missiles were "Dagger" hypersonic missiles.

However, judging from the wreckage of the intercepted "Dagger" missile taken out by Ukrainian officials, it seems more like a decoy bomb in the "Dagger" warhead.

Anyway, it is difficult for ground radar operators to clearly distinguish real incoming missiles and decoy bombs in high-intensity air defense operations. Therefore, they often "fire whenever they find an air target and shoot down one." Count one”.

Thinking about this, the so-called "'Patriot's' shooting down 6 'Dagger' hypersonic weapons this time" is probably a lot of water.

In addition to Russia and Ukraine, which are directly at war, the country most affected by this incident may be the United States. Who is to say that the United States is the country of origin of the "Patriot" system.

Can the "Patriot" anti-aircraft missile, which was scrapped just one month after entering the war and was praised by all walks of life, still be trustworthy and even sell well around the world? I'm afraid many people are confused.