The Dutch government intends to send Patriot air and missile defense systems to Ukraine.

This was reported by the Dutch media De Telegraaf with reference to the Prime Minister of the country.

“We intend to join the initiative of Germany and the United States to send Patriots to Ukraine,” Prime Minister Mark Rutte said, sitting next to Biden.

He previously said he had a phone conversation on the issue with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Rutte also had a conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday.

Bloomberg also reports on this intention, citing anonymous sources.

The agency reports that according to people familiar with the situation, who wished to remain anonymous, the Dutch government will soon make a final decision on the transfer of these complexes.

If the transfer is agreed, the Netherlands will become the third country to join the United States and Germany, which will provide long-range air defense systems.

It is known that the Netherlands currently has several divisions of Patriot anti-aircraft missile systems in PAC-2 and PAC-3 versions.

The Militarny has elucidated the trend of recent weeks concerning the Allies approving a number of agreements under which several batteries of these anti-aircraft systems would be transferred.

Thus, the U.S. government announced the provision of one Patriot battery to Ukraine as part of the December military assistance package. Subsequently, the German government joined them in coordinating the transfer of another battery.

MIM-104 Patriot

MIM-104 Patriot is an American anti-aircraft missile system produced by a group of American companies led by Raytheon. The system was created as a universal air defense weapon at medium and high altitudes to provide missile defense at the U.S. Army level.

Patriot is a radio-guided SAM. The guidance of its missile to the target is conducted by controlling the radio channel on the ground radar signal reflected from the target.

The United States is currently armed with the PAC-3 Patriot anti-aircraft systems modification, which was adopted in 2001.

Patriot SAM is capable of hitting air targets at altitudes up to 24.2 km. Its range depends on the type of missile and ranges between 50 and 160 km. The probability of hitting an air target with the Patriot PAC-3 system is 80-90%, and the probability of hitting a tactical ballistic missile is 60-80% with one missile, provided there are no obstacles. The maximum target speed that the SAM can effectively intercept is 1600 m/s.

To intercept ballistic targets, the system includes a special ERINT missile, which hits the target with a direct strike of the warhead in the form of a tungsten rod. The range of ballistic target engagement by the ERINT missile is between 20 and 45 km, depending on the distance of the launcher and the system radar. The maximum altitude of ballistic targets is 20 km.