Germany offered Poland the anti-aircraft missile systems MIM-104 Patriot to protect the eastern border. Poland offers to transfer these SAMs to Ukraine immediately. We don’t mind.

After massive Russian attack on November 15, 2022 two missiles (most likely Ukrainian S-300) fell on the territory of Poland and killed two civilians, NATO countries finally understood that modern war has no borders.

Therefore, on November 21, 2022, Germany offered Poland assistance in strengthening air defense. It was about the deployment of German MIM-104 Patriot anti-aircraft missile systems on the territory of Poland and the patrolling and possibly redeployment of German Eurofighter fighters. German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht addressed with this offer.

Yesterday, Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Błaszczak proposed an alternative option. Transfer the MIM-104 Patriot to Ukraine immediately.

Po kolejnych atakach rakietowych 🇷🇺,zwróciłem się do strony 🇩🇪, aby proponowane 🇵🇱 baterie Patriot zostały przekazane na 🇺🇦 i rozstawione przy zachodniej granicy. To pozwoli uchronić 🇺🇦 przed kolejnymi ofiarami i blackoutem i zwiększy bezpieczeństwo przy naszej wschodniej granicy

— Mariusz Błaszczak (@mblaszczak) November 23, 2022

“After further missile attacks by Russia (against Ukraine – PAP), I asked the German side to pass the Patriot batteries that it had offered to Poland to Ukraine instead, and deploy them on their western border,” Błaszczak wrote.

Minister of Defense is supported by Jarosław Kaczyński, co-founder and chairman of the Law and Justice party, former prime minister of Poland, who is still considered the country’s most influential politician.

“I want to note that I am expressing my personal point of view here, but I believe that it would be best for the security of Poland if the Germans handed over this equipment to the Ukrainians and trained the Ukrainian military, with the condition that the batteries would be located in the west of Ukraine. Then it would probably make it possible to shoot down enemy missiles more effectively than the S-300. On the other hand, it would protect us from events like the one that happened in Przewodów. At the same time, if the Russians decided to attack us, it would also be a defense for us,” said Kaczyński.

Ukraine does not mind at all. Spokesman of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Yuriy Ihnat during the briefing said the following:

“And why in Poland? You can deploy them [MIM-104 Patriot] in Western Ukraine. This is a question for our partners, what steps they are ready to take to protect the Ukrainian border, Ukrainian territory and Europe, to ensure the safety of the airspace on the outskirts of Europe.”

Regarding the deployment of additional air defense systems on Polish territory, Ihnat added: “This will of course help [Ukraine as well], the system has a range of over 100 kilometers… These air defense systems can potentially strengthen the defense of Ukrainian skies.”

As a reminder, the MIM-104 Patriot is a medium/long-range air defense/anti-missile defense system that has been manufactured since 1976 and is the main air defense system of the US Army. A total of 1,106 MIM-104 Patriot launchers and 10,000 anti-aircraft missiles were produced. 172 complexes were exported. The cost of one battery, which consists of 6 launchers, is $1 billion. The cost of each missile is more than $3 million. The Patriot air defense system operates primarily in battalions, each of which contains from 4 to 6 conventional batteries.

MIM-104 Patriot of modern configurations can destroy air and ballistic targets at a range of up to 160 km and an altitude of 24 km. The speed of the rocket is Mach 4.1 and, that is, 5022 km/h.

Technical specifications of MIM-104 Patriot of different versions
Weight – 914 kg (PAC-1/PAC-2), 312 kg (PAC-3), 373 kg (PAC-3 MSE)
Length – 5310 mm (PAC-1/PAC-2), 5200 mm (PAC-3), 4826 mm (PAC-3 MSE), 4600 mm (PAAC-4)
Diameter – 410 mm (PAC-1/PAC-2), 255 mm (PAC-3), 300 mm (PAC-3 MSE)
Wingspan – 850 mm (PAC-1/PAC-2), 510 mm (PAC-3), 920 mm (PAC-3 MSE)
Warhead weight – 90 kg
Fuel – solid rocket engine
Operational range – 90 km (PAC-1), 160 km (PAC-2), 30 km (PAC-3), 60 km (PAC-3 MSE)
Target height – 24,200 m
Maximum speed – Mach 2.8 (PAC-1), Mach 4.1 (PAC-2/PAC-3)
Platform – mobile semi-trailer with 4 or 16 launch containers