Israel Transfers Patriot Systems to Ukraine

Israel has transferred a number of Patriot air defense systems to Ukraine, with the mediation of the United States, according to Israeli Ambassador to Ukraine, Mykhailo Brodsky.

The announcement came during an interview with the “In Bed” project, where Brodsky stated, “We agreed to transfer them to Ukraine. And unfortunately, not much was said about this. But when they say that Israel did not help militarily, that is not true.”

While the ambassador did not disclose how many Patriot systems were delivered, the move marks a notable shift in Israel’s role in military assistance to Ukraine.

The transfer follows months of behind-the-scenes talks among the U.S., Israel, and Ukraine. As early as June 2024, reports indicated that discussions were underway regarding the handover of decommissioned Israeli Patriot batteries to Ukraine. The arrangement reportedly involved Israel first transferring the systems to the U.S., which then carried out upgrades and delivered them onward to Ukrainian forces.

In January 2024, U.S. military cargo aircraft delivered around 90 Patriot missiles from Israeli storage sites to Poland, likely for eventual handover to Ukraine. These transfers were observed by OSINTdefender, which tracked American C-17 aircraft flying from Israel’s Hatzerim air base to Rzeszow, Poland, via Ramstein Air Base in Germany. Rzeszow serves as a key logistics hub for Western arms deliveries to Ukraine.

The transfer of these systems to Ukraine provides Kyiv with another layer of air defense at a time when Russian missile and drone attacks continue to target critical infrastructure and urban centers.

Russia Pounds Kyiv, Odesa after Record Drone Barrage as Peace Talks Stall

Russia launched its most intense aerial assault in over three years of war, striking Kyiv and Odesa on June 10 and killing at least one person, just days after a record drone offensive and amid stalled peace talks. Ukraine reported nearly 500 air attacks, including 479 drones and 20 missiles, most of which were intercepted. Russian officials claimed their forces targeted a Ukrainian airfield, reportedly near Dubno. In retaliation, Ukraine launched drone strikes that temporarily shut down airports in Moscow and St. Petersburg, with Russia saying it downed 102 drones overnight.

Israeli Patriots were Decommissioned for Modernization

The Israeli Air Force began phasing out several of its Patriot systems earlier this year. In February, Israeli command announced the decommissioning of some MIM-104 Patriot batteries, with the process accelerating by April 2024. Crews previously assigned to these systems were reportedly being retrained to operate more modern air defense platforms.

Israel is replacing older Patriot PAC-2 systems with newer domestically developed technologies, including David’s Sling and the Iron Dome. These systems are designed to handle evolving threats such as ballistic missiles, drones, and precision-guided weapons.

Some of Israel’s older Patriots had been upgraded to the Yahalom standard, enabling them to fire the newer PAC-3 interceptor missiles. This upgrade included software and hardware improvements to boost the systems' effectiveness against high-speed aerial threats.

Operational History

Originally delivered to Israel in 1991, the Patriot systems were not used in combat until 2014, when one was employed to intercept a Hamas drone from Gaza. Over the following decade, they were used sparingly, downing a handful of aerial threats including Syrian aircraft in 2014 and 2018.

As of late 2023, open-source estimates suggested Israel maintained at least eight Patriot batteries, though the exact number of operational launchers remained undisclosed.