KYIV: Ukraine is considering forming consortia with its allies to build air defenses capable of downing ballistic missiles and overcome a critical deficit of munitions for US-made Patriot systems, its defense minister said.
Patriot systems have been an important part of Ukraine’s efforts to defend its skies against Russian ballistic missiles, which fly faster than the speed of sound and cannot be intercepted by Ukraine’s other air defense systems.
Stocks of the Patriot system’s PAC-3 missiles have been running “critically” low, Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said.
“Ukraine has significant potential to independently produce counter-ballistic systems and missiles,” Fedorov told reporters this week, adding that air defenses had been his main focus since he took office in mid-January. President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly criticized delays by Ukraine’s allies in providing Patriot missiles and other air defenses since Russia’s 2022 invasion, and said that at one point in January several systems had run out of ammunition.
Fedorov said he had discussed the idea of creating joint air defense ventures with Zelensky. Reuters could not determine whether discussions have already taken place with allies or which of its allies Kyiv has in mind.
“This requires a dedicated project — the mathematics is complex and requires time. But Ukraine must develop its own capabilities,” Fedorov said.
STARLINK CUT-OFF
Fedorov touted an early success in his tenure last month after Elon Musk’s SpaceX agreed to cut off Russian forces from thousands of its Starlink satellite Internet terminals which were not on a Kyiv-approved whitelist.
He said that since the cut-off, the number of Russian livestream connections on the battlefield had dropped elevenfold.
“We effectively cut Russia off from this connectivity,” he said.
The terminals are resistant to electronic jamming and thus an invaluable means to communicate on the battlefield and to pilot drones.
Fedorov said intercepts of radio frequencies, which can be disrupted more easily, had increased significantly after the cut-off.
Ukraine may form joint ventures with allies to boost defenses against ballistic missiles
https://arab.news/2h8rf
Ukraine may form joint ventures with allies to boost defenses against ballistic missiles
- Patriot systems have been an important part of Ukraine’s efforts to defend its skies
- Stocks of the Patriot system’s PAC-3 missiles have been running “critically” low, Fedorov said
UK defense minister suggests Putin’s ‘hidden hand’ behind Iran tactics
LONDON: UK Defense Minister John Healey suggested on Thursday that Russia was influencing Iran’s use of drone attacks in its war with the United States and Israel.
Healey said Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “hidden hand” may be behind some of the tactics deployed by Tehran in the Middle East conflict, which started when the United States and Israel struck Iran on February 28.
He told reporters that officials were analyzing an Iranian-made drone that hit the UK’s Akrotiri air force base in Cyprus on March 1 “for any evidence of Russian or any other foreign components and parts.”
“We will update you and appropriately publish any findings from that when we’ve got them,” he said during a visit to Britain’s military headquarters in Northwood, near London.
“But I think no one will be surprised to believe that Putin’s hidden hand is behind some of the Iranian tactics, potentially some of their capabilities as well, not least because one world leader that is benefiting from the sky high oil prices at the moment is Putin,” he added.
Russia is a close ally of Iran, with the two agreeing last year to help each other counter “common threats.”
US President Donald Trump said Saturday he had no indication Russia was supporting Iran in the war, but that if they were, it was not “helping much.”
Nick Perry, the British military’s chief of joint operations, told Healey there were “definitively” signs of a link between Russia and Iran, including Iran’s use of drones “as learned from the Russians.”
No one was injured when the drone hit a hangar at Akrotiri. British warplanes shot down a further two drones heading for the base the same day.
Guy Foden, a brigadier in the British army, briefed Healey that UK troops based at a military base housing international coalition troops in Irbil, Iraq, had helped shoot down two Iranian drones on Wednesday.
