Patriot Missiles Running Low: Wars Drain Arsenals
Global demand for the sophisticated air defense system has surged, severely depleting interceptor stockpiles in the U.S. and Gulf states, with individual missiles costing up to $5 million.
Global demand for the sophisticated air defense system has surged, severely depleting interceptor stockpiles in the U.S. and Gulf states, with individual missiles costing up to $5 million.
First used during the Gulf War in 1991, the American Patriot air defense system has seen a massive surge in demand this year. Interceptor missile stockpiles have been severely depleted due to the war in Ukraine against the Russian invasion and the spread of conflict in the Middle East. According to estimates from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), approximately 65 percent of American Patriot interceptors were expended between February and July, leaving the U.S. with fewer than 850 missiles in stock, a significant drop from 2,330 before the start of the Iranian war.
Patriot, short for Phased Array Tracking Radar for Intercept on Target, is a mobile surface-to-air system built by American weapons manufacturer Raytheon Technologies. It can be used in all weather conditions and over long distances. Developed in the 1980s, the system has been continuously modernized and is planned to remain in service until 2048.
A typical battery includes radar and control systems, a power unit, launchers, and support vehicles. Depending on the interceptor used, the system can intercept aircraft, tactical ballistic missiles, and cruise missiles. The radar system has a range of over 150 kilometers and can track up to 100 potential targets simultaneously, NATO announced back in 2015.
The system has different capabilities depending on the interceptor type. The older PAC-2 missile uses a fragmentation warhead that detonates near the target, while the newer PAC-3 family uses more precise "hit-to-kill" technology to physically collide with the target. Raytheon produces the PAC-2 GEM-T interceptor, while Lockheed Martin, the world's largest weapons manufacturer, builds the more advanced PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement (MSE), capable of targeting longer-range ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, aircraft, and hypersonic weapons.
In July of this year, Lockheed unveiled a new interceptor, the PAC-3 Adapted Capability Effector (ACE), which it claims will cost half as much while still being able to target short-range ballistic missiles, aircraft, and cruise missiles. Although not originally designed to intercept hypersonic weapons, in May 2023 the U.S. confirmed that Ukraine used Patriot to shoot down a Russian Kinzhal missile, which Moscow claims is hypersonic.
Raytheon has built and delivered more than 240 Patriot fire units, and 19 countries currently operate the system, including the U.S., Germany, Poland, Japan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt. Of these, 16 countries possess the latest PAC-3 MSE missiles, while six to eight countries have requested additional missiles to replenish their depleted stockpiles.
The costs are astronomical. According to CSIS data, a single newly built Patriot battery costs over $1 billion. That price includes $400 million for the system itself and $690 million for the missiles within the battery. A single PAC-3 interceptor is estimated to cost around $4 to $5 million per unit.
Specific inventory numbers are classified, but it is known that current stockpiles in Gulf states are also severely depleted, and several European countries have transferred part of their stockpiles to Ukraine. A dramatic example is Saudi Arabia, which expended about 86 percent of its 2,800 PAC-3 interceptors in the first 38 days of fighting, leaving it with 400 missiles in April. Other Gulf nations have spent similar amounts of their inventories.
Ukraine announced in January that it had destroyed 250 targets using the Patriot system, including 140 ballistic missiles. Although details about the destruction of Iranian ballistic missiles in the Gulf remain undisclosed, it is known that Patriot played a crucial role.
In response to the shortage, the U.S. has approved the sale of 5,250 interceptors to Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates to replenish stockpiles. Negotiations are also accelerating to allow Ukraine to produce Patriot interceptors, including an option for Ukraine to build some components for final assembly elsewhere in Europe. Last month, the U.S. Army awarded Lockheed Martin a contract worth up to $58.6 billion to produce Patriot interceptor missiles, a clear signal that the race to refill depleted arsenals continues at full speed.
