“This increase highlights the critical importance of Patriot systems in military operations in the Middle East and Ukraine,” the accompanying document states. The planned acquisition of 10,397 additional missiles will result in an estimated cost of $40.2 billion, or approximately $3.87 million per missile.
The PAC-3 MSE missiles are equipped with an active radar seeker, a high-explosive fragmentation warhead, and a contact fuze. They are capable of intercepting targets at altitudes up to 36,000 metres and at ranges of up to 120 kilometres for aerial targets and 60 kilometres for ballistic ones.
The U.S. Army has long faced shortages of Patriot systems. New Patriot and THAAD batteries were deployed in the Middle East from October 2023, while large-scale deliveries to Ukraine have further strained supplies.
In 2024, U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan noted that despite Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s request for at least seven Patriot batteries, stockpiles were limited. “American Patriot systems are currently deployed around the world, including in the Middle East, to protect U.S. forces. If we could free up more Patriot batteries, we would. But we are primarily supplying the missiles,” he stated.
