Russian Military is prepating to destroy two more PATRIOT air defense systems believed to be in Ukraine after its Kinzhal (Dagger in Russian) hypersonic missile broke up a PATRIOT system on May 16.
"The destruction of the first PATRIOT anti-aircraft missile system is a landmark event for the Russian Army. This is the first time an American installation has been hit by an air strike. To ensure the defeat of the PATRIOT, a large number of cruise missiles and kamikaze drones were launched near Kiev: they were used as decoys." said a report in the Russian MoD's TV channel, Tvzvezda.
Dagger hunt has begun
According to some reports, there are two more Patriot air defense systems in Ukraine. Surely, a "dagger" hunt has began on them. Back in the 90s, our (Russian) military calculated the possibility of defeating such (PATRIOT) complexes. So, for this you need to plan an entire air operation, in which several groups of aircraft participated, the report said.
PATRIOT's shortcomings exposed
The operation to destroy the PATRIOT system reveals several shortcomings of the U.S. made air defense system.
First, while the PATRIOT has the ability to detect targets that fly at a speed of more than Mach 2.5, it does not have the ability to intercept them.
Secondly, the deployment or collapse time of the PATRIOT complex is about 30 minutes. This is unlike the Russian S-300 system, which can turn around in minutes, hit a target and move from the location to evade a retaliatory attack.
PATRIOT can see Kinzhal missile, but cannot stop it
The radars of the PATRIOT air defense system saw an approaching hypersonic target, but could not do anything about it , the report said. According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, a full unit of the Patriot complex was destroyed in Kiev.
The report said that details of the operation to destroy the PATRIOT complex will remain highly classified for a long time to come. However, one can only guess how it developed- intelligence worked to establish exactly where this air defense system was located, determine the site where the detection station and launchers were deployed. Once that was established a Kinzhal missile was launched from a MiG-31 fighter jet.