In the framework of a recent press conference, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius indicated that Germany would be willing to deliver five PAC-3 missiles to the Armed Forces of Ukraine to equip their MIM-104 Patriot air defense systems. According to the official, the supply of this reduced number of missiles would be conditional on other NATO partners being able to assemble a package of 30 missiles to be delivered jointly, reflecting the difficulties faced by Kyiv’s European allies in continuing this type of military assistance.
Quoting Minister Pistorius himself: “Germany will deliver five additional interceptor missiles, known as PAC-3, to Ukraine, if other countries choose to donate a total of 30 PAC-3. We all know this is about saving lives; it is a matter of days, not weeks or months, so I can tell you that we are on a good path. Not everyone has approved this yet, but I am very optimistic that we will manage to assemble a package of 30+5, and I am very grateful for that.”
The German official’s remarks come just days after he confirmed that the Bundeswehr no longer has the capacity to continue supplying additional Patriot systems to its Ukrainian counterparts, with estimates indicating that Berlin’s inventory has been reduced to roughly one third of its size prior to the start of the Russian invasion. In concrete terms, reports from Kyiv indicate that Germany has sent a total of five of these systems and is currently awaiting the arrival of new units from the United States to rebuild its own air defense capability.
It is worth recalling at this point, as an illustrative example, that Germany and Norway have already cooperated to allocate two Patriot systems to Ukraine. Under this arrangement, the former would provide units from its own arsenal, while the latter would contribute funding to purchase two replacement systems from the United States; this in exchange for approximately USD 692 million. This initiative was intended to demonstrate European support in the face of growing Russian air attacks that continue to place heavy strain on existing defense networks, although it once again highlighted the difficulties faced by Berlin in implementing such measures after nearly four years of hostilities.
Finally, it should be noted that Berlin has also contributed to Ukrainian air defense through the delivery of IRIS-T systems, which are manufactured by the company Diehl Defence. In detail, Ukrainian sources indicate that nine of these systems have already been delivered, representing half of the total units ordered for Kyiv. However, Pistorius recently acknowledged that this number is insufficient to counter the large volume of Russian attacks, which is why the aforementioned company has already drawn up plans to increase the production rate to around ten IRIS-T systems per year; a new facility has therefore been opened in Saarland for this purpose.
Images used for illustrative purposes
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