Dramatic moment Russians ‘destroys two $400m US-made Patriot surface-to-air missile systems in one hypersonic Iskander strike’ in costly blow to Ukraine
- Patriot missile systems cost up to $400 million without missiles
- Ukraine is said to have had five before the attack
- Each rocket can cost up to $6 million
Dramatic aerial footage reportedly shows the moment two US-made truck-mounted quad launchers for the Patriot surface-to-air missile systems are destroyed.
A gigantic explosion followed an attack by a Russian hypersonic Iskander missile.
The Russians call it the first video-confirmed destruction of the Patriot complex shown by Ukraine. Each system is believed to cost $400 million, while missiles can cost up to $6 million each.
The blow comes after Ukraine reportedly used the Patriot to shoot down a series of Russian warplanes in recent weeks.
If confirmed – and Russia initially claimed that Ukrainian S-300 complexes had been destroyed – the attack is a major blow to Ukraine.
A gigantic explosion followed an attack by a Russian hypersonic Iskander missile
Patriots have been supplied to Ukraine by the US, the Netherlands and Germany
Ukraine had only five Patriot systems before this attack, and each battery, including missiles, cost about $1 billion each
Ukraine had only five Patriot systems before this attack, and each battery, including missiles, cost about $1 billion each.
Patriots have been supplied to Ukraine by the US, the Netherlands and Germany.
The attack, according to reports, came as Patriot equipment was moved to the front line, apparently without air cover, near Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region of Ukraine.
The Patriot has been crucial for Ukraine to defend major cities from incoming attacks, but also as an offensive weapon to blow Putin’s fighter jets out of the sky.
The system has proven effective against the hypersonic Iskander missile, but it was an Iskander that struck the Patriot complex and its support vehicles here.
The Patriot has been crucial for Ukraine to defend major cities from incoming attacks, but also as an offensive weapon to blow Putin’s fighter jets out of the sky
Each battery consists of five components: the missiles themselves, the missile launcher, a radar antenna, a control car and a power plant truck.
Loyalist pro-war broadcaster Military Informant called it “the first confirmation of the destruction of two US MIM-104 Patriot air defense systems.”
It appears that a Russian military drone spotted the Patriot movement and passed on the data to enable clinical Iskander targeting.
Russia’s state news agency TASS claimed three launch vehicles may have been destroyed, but other sources reported two.
“The Iskander tactical missile system is believed to have destroyed three launchers of the US-made Patriot system near Pokrovsk,” a source told TASS.
Each battery consists of five components: the missiles themselves, the missile launcher, a radar antenna, a control car and a power plant truck.