June 22, 2026: The American government recently approved the production of Patriot air defense systems by Polish weapons manufacturers. Before this, Japan was the only foreign nation producing Patriot missiles. Growing demand for Patriot missiles in Ukraine and the Middle East, plus declining American stockpiles, led to this decision. Many PAC-3 MSE anti-missile missiles have been purchased by American allies, and given to Ukraine, and more missiles were used during the Iran War by the US and Persian Gulf Arab countries. Around 700 PAC-3 MSE missiles are currently produced annually. The Americans want to replenish their own stocks of Patriot missiles while also expanding production to about 2,000 PAC-3 MSEs a year by 2030. The production of Patriot missiles locally will require some construction, reorganization, and hiring by Polish defense firms. The Americans are also investigating the possibility of producing PrSM/Precision Strike Missiles for HIMARS in Poland, as well as Hellfire missiles used on Apache Gunships and other helicopters. PrSM was recently used by the Americans in the Iran War

The Polish military already operates two Patriot batteries and is expecting delivery of six more batteries. At the same time, Germany is also seeking to produce Patriot missiles. Patriot has been in service since 1984 and experienced its first sustained combat in 1990, when it was used against Iraqi SCUD ballistic missiles fired at Israel and Saudi Arabia. Its success rate, 40 to 70 percent, was mediocre at best. That was largely due to the improvised modifications Iraqis made to their SCUDs to extend their range. As a result, the SCUDs tended to fall apart during the terminal flight phase which created unintended countermeasures. Some of the larger pieces of these modified SCUDs, like additional fuel tanks, broke away and were seen by Patriot radar as the actual missile warhead section. In some cases, non-warhead portions, like the fuel tanks carrying very toxic fuel, of the SCUD came down on military or civilian personnel on the ground. Subsequent upgrades to Patriot increased accuracy against deliberate or accidental countermeasures. During 2023 Patriot Systems began operating in Ukraine, with the usual spectacular results. This was especially the case with the Ukrainians, who tended to find additional uses for many of the weapons they received from NATO countries.

Since 1970 over 10,000 Patriot missiles and 1,500 launchers have been produced. After decades of service, some were updated while others were scrapped. Patriot missiles can, with regular upgrades and refurbishment, remain in use for over 40 years. A growing number of Patriot missiles are doing just that, but many are still fired each year for training and testing. Most Patriot batteries are equipped with both longer-range GEM-T missiles for aircraft and shorter-range PAC-3 MSE ones for ballistic missiles or, if necessary, aircraft. The PAC 2 is older, cheaper, and designed to intercept manned aircraft at ranges up to 160 kilometers, while the PAC 3 is the newest and about twice as expensive at $4 million. The Patriot system, with continued upgrades, will likely remain in production until the 2040s, though it badly needs a mobile replacement for various reasons such as attack by swarms of cheap drones, plus that the precise location of Patriot radars can be easily determined from orbit. Demand for Patriot missiles in Ukraine means that nearly all the older Patriot missiles are being used and the manufacturer is working overtime to produce more missiles.

Each Patriot battery is manned by about a hundred troops and contains a radar plus four or more launchers. The launcher is designed to use both the smaller PAC 3 missile as well as the original and larger PAC 2 anti-aircraft version. A Patriot launcher can hold sixteen PAC 3 missiles versus four PAC 2s. A PAC 2 missile weighs about a ton while a PAC 3 weighs about a third of that. The PAC 3 has a shorter range that was originally 20 kilometers, but the latest version can do 35 kilometers. The larger PAC-2 can reach 160 kilometers.