Israel Sending Patriots to Ukraine?
I had a chance to go on The Mike Baker President Daily Brief and here is what I said
Short answer: Israel has 8 batteries of Patriots (up to perhaps 32 launchers) that are capable of firing the PATRIOT PAC-2 GEM-T missile which has a proximity warhead, but is designed to take out ballistic missiles.
At least some of the launchers in Ukraine are capable of firing the PAC-3 missile, which is the most advanced interceptor in the US arsenal. It is unknown whether Israel has performed the hardware and software upgrades necessary to fire the PAC-3, although it is unlikely since Israel was moving toward Arrow-2 and Arrow 3 development while phasing out the Patriot.
The addition of 8 batteries of Patriot systems would allow Ukraine to fight back against some of the glide bombs that have been ravaging Kharkiv.
I’ll be upset if these are not sent to Ukraine. Israel needs to act like a western ally, on Ukraine and Russia they’ve been somewhere between Hungary and Turkey. These are American systems loaned to Israel, going out of service, if they don’t send them, I think we should reassess supplying Israel with weapons. We bend over to help them yet they still go their own way whenever convenient
2 things I've wondered - Can the Patriot intercept the PLANE before it launches?
and Are we building a wall (iron curtain of sorts) along the Ukraine/Russia border?