Romania Considers Providing Patriot Air Defense System to Ukraine.

On June 11, 2024, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis announced at the B9 summit in Riga that a crucial meeting of the Supreme Council of National Defense (CSAT) would be convened next week to discuss the possibility of ceding a Patriot air defense system to Ukraine. This announcement comes as Romania weighs its defense options amid growing threats from Russia.
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Romania Patriot Air Defense System (Picture source: NATO)

According to President Iohannis, the issue of ceding the Patriot system is "current" and deserves thorough discussion at the next CSAT meeting scheduled for next Thursday. "This issue will probably be discussed," he stated, highlighting the importance of this matter for Romania's national security.

At the end of March 2024, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that at least twenty-five Patriot air defense systems, each equipped with six to eight launchers, would be needed to protect Ukraine from Russian missiles and drones.

In response, Germany launched an initiative to find the Patriot systems requested by Kyiv and set an example by announcing the delivery of a third Patriot battery taken from the Bundeswehr's stockpile. Spain also announced that it would join this effort by supplying interceptor missiles.

Regarding Romania, sources from Antena 3 CNN indicate that a recent analysis by the Ministry of Defense concluded that Romania can
not currently afford to give up any element of its air defense. Romania currently possesses seven Patriot systems, ordered in 2017 for a total of $3.9 billion, of which four have been delivered and only one was declared fully operational in November 2023.

The total cost of these systems amounts to approximately $4 billion, representing the most expensive acquisition in Romania's defense history. This expenditure underscores Romania's level of commitment to defense and the strategic value of the Patriot systems in its military arsenal.

However, President Iohannis remains cautious, emphasizing that the decision to cede a Patriot system must be made after rigorous consultation with military experts and within the CSAT. He also dismissed the idea of a broad public debate on this issue, considering the sensitive and specialized nature of national security.

From a strictly military perspective, there are multiple arguments against sending a Patriot system to Ukraine from Romania. Firstly, each Patriot system is crucial for Romanian air defense, especially in a context where only one of the four delivered systems is currently operational. Ceding one of these systems would significantly reduce Romania's capacity to protect itself against aerial and ballistic missile threats. Secondly, Romania's integrated and interoperable air defense capacity would be compromised, weakening its contribution to NATO's collective defense on its eastern flank, a region already under strain due to Russian aggression in Ukraine. Thirdly, Romania must maintain a credible and robust deterrence posture against any potential aggression, and a reduction in its defense assets would weaken this deterrent posture. Finally, the Patriot systems play a vital role in Romania's multi-layered air defense network, and their absence could create vulnerabilities exploitable by adversaries, endangering national security and regional stability.

Nonetheless, Romania is not entirely lacking in air defense: it hosts an AEGIS Ashore site, which is one of the components of NATO's missile defense "shield," and it hosts a French SAMP/T system, deployed in Capu Midia by the Air and Space Force [AAE] since May 2022. This system is connected and integrated, via a tactical data link, with the Romanian defense system as well as NATO's.