Ukraine Runs Out of Patriot Missiles as Intercepts Fall From 70% to Zero
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Aug 14
Ukraine Runs Out of Patriot Missiles as Intercepts Fall From 70% to Zero
3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Aug 14
Summary
Ukraine has exhausted its Patriot missile supply, leaving Russian ballistic and cruise strikes to hit infrastructure largely unopposed after interception rates dropped from more than 70% to none.
840 Patriot interceptors are produced globally each year, while Russia makes about 750 Iskander missiles annually; because defenders typically fire two to three interceptors per ballistic missile, Kyiv would need several times current world output.
The shortage has worsened since the US attack on Iran triggered heavy Middle East demand, with Tehran launching more than 170 ballistic missiles a day in wartime and consuming scarce Patriot stocks allies had already been reluctant to give up.
Kyiv is now bracing for a winter of severe power disruption, while pursuing harder alternatives such as striking Russian launchers and missile factories or seeking expanded support for its own cruise-missile industry.
The crunch also exposes a broader NATO planning failure: allies knew the production math before 2022 but did not expand Patriot capacity or field enough alternatives such as the Franco-Italian SAMP-T.