Israel plans to phase out Patriot air defense systems altogether

As Ukrinform writes on Tuesday, The Times of Israel reported this, citing sources in the military.

In the coming months, the Patriot missile defense systems will be replaced by more advanced air defense systems, according to the Israeli military.

In February, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it was preparing to decommission several Patriot batteries while its personnel would be trained to operate the Iron Dome air defense system.

According to a publication published on the website of the Israeli military on Tuesday, the Patriot complexes will be finally deactivated within two months.

“We’re currently reducing the number of batteries until the entire system is shut down,” said the commander of the 138th Air Defense Battalion, which operates the Patriot batteries.

American Patriot batteries successfully shot down Scud missiles fired at Israel from Iraq during the 1991 Gulf War.

In the same year, the Patriot system was officially included in Israel’s arsenal, but was not used for the first time until 2014, when it shot down a Hamas drone launched from the Gaza Strip.

In the past decade, the system has only intercepted about 10 targets, including Syrian fighter jets that violated Israeli airspace in 2014 and 2018.

This system will now be replaced by more advanced air defense systems, the Israeli military said.

“We realized that we need to move forward and improve our defense methods. Innovations in the (air defense) system improve operational and technical responsiveness,” said the 138th Battalion commander.

Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his country needed at least seven Patriot air defense systems.