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  • Ukraine's use of the US-made Patriot system has been celebrated.
  • The weapon had a chequered reputation due to its performance in past conflicts.
  • Any skepticism over its effectiveness should be put to bed, experts told Business Insider.

    • Any lingering doubts about the effectiveness of the US-made Patriot air-defense system at shooting down airborne threats have finally been dispelled by the system's performance in Ukraine, experts told Business Insider.

    The system's intercept rate in past conflicts left it with a mixed reputation, experts said, and sparked debates over whether it should be sent to Ukraine in the first place.

    Having strong air-defense systems is critical for Ukraine. Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in late February 2022, Ukraine has been regularly using its air-defense systems to defend against missile and drone attacks. Those attacks have hit cities, killed civilians, destroyed homes, and damaged essential energy infrastructure, knocking out power.

    But for a little over a year, Ukraine really only had less-capable, Soviet-era air-defense systems. Allies started to give Ukraine more advanced ones but hadn't yet committed to sending Patriots.

    The US eventually approved their move. The first arrived last April, and Ukraine now has at least three, possibly five, of them. Exactly how many Ukraine has been given, as well as exactly where they are and how they are being used, has been kept secret.

    But one thing that is clear, the experts said, is that the Patriot has clearly been working extremely well in Ukraine.

    Their performance, according to Frederik Mertens, an analyst at the Hague Center for Strategic Studies, has been "an unmitigated success."

    Some experts BI spoke to argued the older, worse reputation was never fully deserved. For others, updates to the system and the way Ukraine has used it is what now elevates its reputation.

    Either way, the consensus now is that there is no argument against it being an extremely effective system.

    "The Patriot has performed fairly spectacularly in Ukraine," Justin Bronk, an airpower expert at the UK's Royal United Services Institute who has followed developments in Ukraine closely, told BI.

    A mixed past

    The MIM-104 Patriot missile system is a ground-based, mobile surface-to-air missile battery that can down crewed and uncrewed aircraft, cruise missiles, and short-range and tactical ballistic missiles.

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