Patriots ‘very expensive’ – Trump
US President Donald Trump reflected on the high cost of Patriot surface-to-air missile (SAM) systems following a Ukrainian request for one of the units, which he said was still under consideration.
Trump has repeatedly criticized his predecessor, Joe Biden, for writing a blank check to Ukraine with respect to weapons deliveries.
When asked by a reporter on Wednesday whether he was considering providing the country with another Patriot unit, Trump replied that the air defense system is “very rare… [and] very expensive.”
“We’re gonna have to take a look” at the Ukrainian request, Trump added, noting that “it’s a shame that we have to spend so much money” on supporting Kiev.
That same day, Germany’s n-tv media outlet quoted a spokesperson for US arms manufacturer Raytheon, which produces Patriot missiles, as saying that it intends to ramp up monthly production of PAC2 GEM-T rockets by 150% by 2028 due to “unprecedented demand.”
According to the publication, as of early 2024, only around 240 were being produced per year.
Each Patriot missile is said to cost approximately $4 million.
Earlier this week, Axios, citing anonymous sources, claimed that the US had promised to send more of the SAMs to Ukraine, though the number would presumably be very limited.
The report came shortly after the Pentagon announced a halt to weapons deliveries to Ukraine as part of a “capability review.”
However, on Monday, Trump appeared to go back on the military aid suspension.
Commenting on the apparent reversal of the decision by the US president, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov criticized the conflicting statements coming out of Washington.
Earlier this month, he suggested that the US apparently “simply cannot produce [Patriot] missiles in the necessary quantities.”
His remark seemed to be corroborated by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s assessment in late May, according to whom “we can’t make them fast enough.”
Around the same time, Trump said that “Biden emptied out our whole country giving [Ukraine] weapons.”
According to Germany’s Kiel Institute, the US has sent nearly $115 billion in military and financial aid to Kiev since the conflict escalated in 2022.
Russia has repeatedly condemned Western arms shipments to Ukraine, arguing that they only serve to prolong the bloodshed without changing the course of the conflict and increase the risk of broader escalation.
