Netherlands plans to provide Ukraine with one Patriot air defense missile system.
On January 18, 2023, several international media announced that the Netherlands plans to join the United States and Germany with the delivery to Ukraine of one Patriot air defense missile system from its military inventory.
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Dutch army Patriot missile launcher unit on the left side. (Picture source: Dutch MoD)
On Tuesday 17 January 2023, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced that the Netherlands would be ready to follow the United States and Germany in the delivery of one Patriot air defense missile system including the training of the Ukrainian soldiers.
Citing Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, the request to deliver the Patriot missile system to Ukraine came after a discussion with American President Joe Biden.
According to information from Dutch Defence Minister Kajsa Ollongren published on December 19, 2022, the Netherlands has now provided Ukraine with €987 million in military aid.
The total aid to Ukraine consists of €697 million in military equipment, €120 million in military aid, €45 million for commercially acquired goods, and a contribution of €100 million for the International Fund for Ukraine.
Currently, the armed forces of the Netherlands are equipped with 18 batteries of Patriot air defense missile systems including versions PAC-2 GEM and PAC-3.
The Patriot is an air defense missile defense system developed by the United States. It is primarily used to intercept and destroy incoming enemy missiles, such as those carrying weapons of mass destruction (WMDs). The Patriot system uses radar and other sensors to detect and track incoming missiles, and then launches its own missiles to intercept and destroy them.
The Patriot PAC-3 (Patriot Advanced Capability-3) is a surface-to-air missile system developed by Lockheed Martin and Raytheon. It is an upgraded version of the Patriot missile system and is designed to intercept and destroy short-range and medium-range ballistic missiles, as well as cruise missiles. The Patriot PAC-3 uses a hit-to-kill approach, where the kinetic energy of the interceptor missile is used to destroy the incoming missile, rather than using an explosive warhead. The missile ogf the PATRIOT PAC-3 has a maximum firing range of about 160 km.
