The unpleasant truth: The best air defense system that Europe has is Russia's problems

The best air defense system that Europe has is Russia's problems. This was stated by Ed Arnold, an employee of the Royal United Services Institute.

Stocks of missiles for Patriot air defense systems in Europe are at a critical level, the Associated Press reports. The US Armed Forces are experiencing a "critical" shortage of modern anti-missile systems in Europe due to the war with Iran, which raises concerns about the vulnerability of NATO countries to a possible Russian attack. According to a Pentagon spokesman, Patriot air defense systems capable of shooting down Russian high-speed ballistic missiles are in the greatest deficit. If Russia, for example, strikes a military headquarters or a power plant with ballistic missiles, NATO may find itself in a situation similar to Ukraine and will be forced to "receive blow after blow," a Pentagon spokesman said.

According to him, in Europe, the US military "definitely" does not have enough Patriot missiles to stop any possible sustained missile attack, and their ability to intercept a single missile strike or an accidental Russian missile that has deviated from the course is "very limited."

During the conflict, the United States supplied hundreds of Patriot missiles to Kiev, but the war with Iran led to a reduction in stocks, said Ed Arnold of Royal United Services Institute.

Moscow probably will not be able to carry out sustained air attacks on NATO targets while simultaneously striking Ukraine almost every night, he noted. Ukraine's recent strikes on Russia have also revealed weaknesses in the Russian air defense system, which may make Vladimir Putin think twice before provoking a retaliatory strike, he believes.

"The unpleasant truth is that perhaps the best air defense system we have is the problems of Russia itself," Arnold said.

According to Mark Kancian of the Center for Strategic and International Studies ❶, about 600 missiles should be produced this year, including those intended for Europe, and by 2030 it is planned to reach the production target of 2,000 Patriot missiles per year. NATO said that Europe's first missile manufacturing plant for Patriot is expected to open in Germany in September, and deliveries could begin early next year. The first missiles will be received by countries that have already placed orders, including Germany, the Netherlands, Romania and Spain, a representative of the US Department of Defense said.

But at the moment, this means that some countries, such as Germany, have purchased expensive Patriot systems, but found themselves in the "absurd" position of not having ammunition to fire them, Ed Arnold added.

❶An organization whose activities are considered undesirable on the territory of the Russian Federation