Romania discusses transfer of Patriot air defense missile system to Ukraine
The Romanian government is ready to discuss with its partners the transfer of Patriot air defense systems to Ukraine.
This was announced by Romanian President Klaus Iohannis during a briefing with journalists after a meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden on May 7.
“President Biden mentioned this … during our meeting, and I said I was open to discussions. I have to discuss it with the Supreme Defense Council to understand what we can offer and what we can get in return, because it is unacceptable to leave Romania without air defense,” Iohannis said.
By the way, Romania currently has one Patriot battery in service. In addition to Romania, other European countries are also armed with the American SAM. For example, Greece, Poland, and Sweden.
Patriot is an anti-aircraft missile system developed by the American company Raytheon. It consists of an air interceptor missile and a high-performance radar system. The probability of hitting an airplane is 0.8-0.9, and a tactical missile – 0.6-0.8. The cost of one missile is about $3 million. Ukraine is currently armed with 3 batteries of Patriot air defense systems. The Armed Forces will receive the fourth system in the near future.
