Ukraine's Request for Advanced Air Defense Systems Amid Russian Assault

American Patriots and the Franco-Italian Samp/T air defense system: this is what Kyiv is demanding to protect itself from the Russian barrage of fire coming from the sky. The Patriots that could be deployed in Ukraine "are at least 100," Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba declared a few days ago, a figure also endorsed by the head of EU diplomacy, Josep Borrell. However, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg intervened to emphasize that the number of batteries in Europe is "top secret information" and that in any case, "they are significantly" less than 100. Borrell at the G7: let's give the Patriots to Kyiv, we cannot rely solely on the USA. What they are: The head of the Atlantic Alliance then recalled that the USA has the most systems of all: 300 operational batteries capable of launching 1,200 missiles, some deployed in the Middle East after the conflict between Hamas and Israel began. Washington "has global responsibilities," Stoltenberg said, as if to indicate to Kyiv which door to knock on. The most advanced air defense system in the American arsenal, made famous by shooting down Saddam Hussein's Scuds, is capable of destroying both aircraft and ballistic missiles and is composed of six main components: a mini power plant mounted on two vehicles, a radar system, a target engagement station, launch batteries, an antenna, and finally the interceptor missiles, Pac-2 and Pac-3. For each individual launch battery, at least 90 soldiers must be deployed. Who has them: There are 16 countries that have these systems, in addition to the USA of course: this can be read in a study commissioned by the US Congress, which approves or denies foreign supply requests. The numbers are uncertain, based on what has been possible to reconstruct. In Europe, Germany has the largest number of systems, with 12, and over eighty launch batteries. The other countries on the American list are Greece, the Netherlands (3 systems recently modernized), Spain (6 batteries, with another 4 ordered in October with 24 launchers), Sweden (4), Romania (7 ordered, 4 already operational), Poland (6 batteries but the system is not yet operational). The cost: In addition to these, Japan, South Korea, Israel, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the Emirates, Taiwan, Bahrain. And surprisingly also Switzerland: the first delivery is expected from 2026. The cost of the Patriots is around one billion dollars, 400 million for the system and almost 700 for the missiles, a thorn in the side of the system from an economic standpoint. The Samp/T version: Last January, the NATO agency responsible for armaments announced support for Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, and Romania for the purchase of 1,000 missiles: the price, discounted, is 5.5 billion dollars. The Samp/T was developed "from the early 2000s as part of the Italian-French Fsaf (Surface Air Systems Family) program," according to the Italian Army's website. "The current version of the Samp/T has cutting-edge capabilities in countering air threats and short-range tactical ballistic missiles." Italy: Italy has 5 batteries, one of which was deployed in Turkey from 2016 to 2019 against tactical ballistic missiles coming from Syrian territory. France, which calls them 'Mamba,' has 7. In June of last year, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and French President Emmanuel Macron announced the delivery of a battery, since then operational in Ukraine.