"Trump is telling a half-truth about Patriot." Analyst Badrak explained why the US has enough systems for Ukraine
In his latest statement about the Patriot system, US President Donald Trump only told half the truth: his country is actually capable of producing enough systems and missiles to sell to Ukraine. This was stated in an article for LIGA.net about the results of the NATO summit by Valentyn Badrak, director of the Center for Army Research, Conversion and Disarmament.
The analyst noted that the US has not yet decided on a key issue for Ukraine: whether Washington will sell Kyiv Patriot air defense systems. Trump promised that the US would consider the issue of supplying missiles for these systems, but added that these munitions are "difficult to obtain and are also needed by the US".
"In Trump's response, who lives in his own reality, only half of the truth is present," Badrak emphasized.
The head of the U.S. Army's Space and Missile Defense Command, Daniel Karbler, stated that the U.S. Armed Forces had a total of only 15 Patriot battalions in 2023.
Such battalions consist of four batteries (one anti-aircraft missile system is one battery), and therefore the total number of Patriots in the US arsenal was 60 systems, the expert noted.
However, he added, unofficial sources indicate that the US has only 18 Patriot PAC-3 batteries – that is, those capable of shooting down ballistic missiles.
According to Badrak, experts in the field suggest that the United States can produce 12-16 Patriot missile systems per year (about two divisions).
Regarding the missiles, the analyst provided the following data: exactly one year ago, in 2024, the US Army announced the signing of a long-term contract with Lockheed Martin to supply 870 MSE missiles for Patriot PAC-3 systems.
During the same year, the manufacturer reached the milestone of 500 MSE interceptors (30% more than in 2023), and in 2025, the company plans to produce another 20% more of these missiles than last year.
Accordingly, the total number of missiles for shooting down ballistic missiles in 2025 will be 600 interceptors, the expert emphasized.
That is, the United States has the necessary means of air and missile defense, and the question is only how the Trump administration will approach the sale of such weapons to Ukraine, Badrak concluded.
- Military analyst Samus told LIGA.net that Ukraine critically needs Patriot and HIMARS systems from the United States, as well as ammunition, spare parts, and missiles for F-16 fighter jets.
- Retired US Air Force Colonel Leiton told LIGA.net that the US provided Ukraine with over 20% of its weapons and equipment, worth over $66.5 billion, and therefore Europe and Ukraine will find it difficult to fill this gap when America soon withdraws from military aid to Kyiv.
