Is The U.S. Patriot Missile Defense System A 'Lemon'?

Daniel Brown/Business Insider

Jeffrey Lewis, Business Insider: Foreign Policy: The missile defense system that the US and its allies rely on fails just about everywhere it's used

* In March, a Patriot missile launch didn't go as planned in Saudi Arabia while intercepting missiles fired by Houthi forces in Yemen.
* Author Jeffrey Lewis examined two missile attacks on Saudi Arabia and didn't find any evidence that Saudi Arabia had intercepted missiles using Patriot missiles.
* That raises uncomfortable questions about the United States, which seems to have sold Saudi Arabia — and its own public — a lemon of a missile defense system.

On March 25, Houthi forces in Yemen fired seven missiles at Riyadh. Saudi Arabia confirmed the launches and asserted that it successfully intercepted all seven.

This wasn't true. It's not just that falling debris in Riyadh killed at least one person and sent two more to the hospital. There's no evidence that Saudi Arabia intercepted any missiles at all. And that raises uncomfortable questions not just about the Saudis, but about the United States, which seems to have sold them — and its own public — a lemon of a missile defense system.

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Update #1: The Patriot missile interceptor malfunctions and misses, but Raytheon still makes billions (Quartz)
Update #2: The Patriot Missile: The Ultimate Missile Shield (Or the Ultimate Paper Tiger?) (National Interest)

WNU Editor: The Patriot missile defense system may have its problems, but countries still want to buy them .... Poland signs $4.75 billion deal for U.S. Patriot missile system facing Russia (Reuters).

Did Saudi Arabia's U.S.-Made Patriot Missile Defense System Fail Spectacularly Last Night?

Haaretz: Saudi Arabia's U.S.-made Patriot Missile Defense System 'Malfunctions,' Crashes in Residential Area

Missile debris killed a man in what was the first death in the capital during the Saudi-led coalition's three-year military campaign in Yemen

Saudi air defenses shot down seven ballistic missiles fired by Yemen's Houthi militia on Sunday, with debris killing a man in what was the first death in the capital during the Saudi-led coalition's three-year military campaign in Yemen.

Saudi forces destroyed three missiles over northeastern Riyadh shortly before midnight, as well as others fired at the southern cities of Najran, Jizan and Khamis Mushait, the coalition said in a statement carried by state news agency SPA.

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WNU Editor: It is obvious from the above video that one of the missiles malfunctioned .... turning around and hitting the ground 10 seconds after it was launched.

More News On Saudi Arabia's U.S.-Made Patriot Missile Defense System Failing Spectacularly Last Night

Videos raise questions over Saudi missile intercept claims -- ABC News/AP
Doubt cast on Saudi claims of Houthi missile interception -- Al Jazeera
VIDEO Shows Alleged US Patriot Missile Mistakenly Falling on Residential Area -- Sputnik
Patriot missiles fail spectacularly during intercept of Yemeni ballistic missile -- Alert 5
Barrage of missiles on Saudi Arabia ramps up Yemen war -- Reuters
Saudi forces intercept seven Yemen rebel missiles over the capital, but shrapnel rains down, killing one person -- Daily Mail/AFP
Missile plunges into residential area as Yemen's Houthi rebels target Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh -- ABC News Online
Saudi Arabia: Houthi missile attack kills Egyptian in Riyadh -- Al Jazeera
With first death in Riyadh, the Saudi-led war in Yemen hits home -- Reuters

U.S. Defense Contractors Expect The New Patriot Missile System Will Be Selling Like 'Hotcakes'

The Warzone/The Drive: Enhanced Patriot Missile Enters Full Rate Production, Will Sell Like Hotcakes

Driven by world events, the market for ballistic missile defense is very hot at the moment, and the Patriot PAC-3 MSE's timing seems just right.

The latest iteration of the popular Patriot Missile System, known as the PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement (MSE), helped swat down multiple targets over White Sands Missile Range during a complex test last November. The PAC-3 MSE interceptor was joined during the test by the Cost Reduction Initiative (CRI) Patriot variant that aims at reducing the cost per shot of the long-running missile type.

This successful test evolution marked the end of the validation phase for the PAC-3 MSE, with the missile having been cleared for full rate production. A contract worth hundreds of millions of dollars was subsequently awarded by the Pentagon in January 2nd, 2018 to build large quantities of the missiles for the US Army and an increasing number of American allies that field the system.

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WNU Editor: I am not sure if the "enhanced patriot missile system" will sell like "hotcakes". Missile defense is very expensive .... Poland Shocked By The High Sticker Price For The American Patriot Defense System (December 7, 2017)

Poland Shocked By The High Sticker Price For The American Patriot Defense System

Defense News: Poland has sticker shock over ’unacceptable’ price tag for Patriot buy

WASHINGTON — Poland has been pushing toward a purchase of a medium-range air-and-missile defense system for many years, settling on an unprecedented configuration of the Patriot system, but was surprised by the high price tag presented when the U.S. State Department cleared the sale of half of the Patriots Poland plans to buy.

According to the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, when it notified Congress last month of the potential sale, the deal could cost the country $10.5 billion for four systems — that is roughly 37 billion zloties — which already exceeds by 7 billion zloties what Poland has said it would spend on the entire program.

The DSCA announcement only marks the progress in the first phase of the acquisition. Poland would like to see a second round of Patriot systems with a 360-degree detection capability and the first four retrofitted with the new radar in a subsequent deal.

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WNU Editor:  Poland is not the only one who has been shocked by the high price for this system .... I would also include the American taxpayer.

U.S.-Made Patriot Missile Defense System Has Shot Down More Than 100 Missiles Fired From Yemen At Gulf Arab States Since 2015

The Daily Signal: US Defense System Has Smacked Down More Than 100 Missiles in Yemen War

The U.S.-made Patriot missile defense system has shot down more than 100 missiles fired from Yemen at Gulf Arab states since 2015, Defense News revealed Wednesday.

The missiles were likely fired by Yemeni Houthi rebels over the last two years at Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in retaliation for the Gulf states’ support of an ongoing air campaign.

President Donald Trump has praised the missile system in recent days after a high-profile intercept over Saudi Arabia’s capital city of Riyadh. Riyadh was targeted by a Houthi missile, which U.S. officials believe bore “Iranian markings.” Iran is known to support the Houthi movement in Yemen, which adheres to a Shiite interpretation of Islam.

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Update: Raytheon: Arab-operated Patriots intercepted over 100 tactical ballistic missiles since 2015 (Defense News)

WNU Editor: The Houthis in Yemen appear to have a lot of missiles in their arsenal.

A $3 Million Patriot Missile Was Used To Shoot Down A $300 Small Quadcopter Drone

Patriot missiles are normally used to shoot down enemy aircraft or other missiles

BBC: Small drone 'shot with Patriot missile'

A Patriot missile - usually priced at about $3m (£2.5m) - was used to shoot down a small quadcopter drone, according to a US general.

The strike was made by a US ally, Gen David Perkins told a military symposium.

"That quadcopter that cost 200 bucks from Amazon.com did not stand a chance against a Patriot," he said.

Patriots are radar-targeted weapons more commonly used to shoot down enemy aircraft and ballistic missiles.

"Now, that worked, they got it, OK, and we love Patriot missiles," the general said.

Recently, there have been reports that some groups, for example in Iraq, have taken to attaching weapons to small, commercial drones and using them against security forces.

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WNU Editor: Talk about enormous overkill. No mention on who did this interception .... but my money is on Saudi Arabia .... and on the Yemen border.

U.S. Patriot Missile Batteries Have Left Turkey

© REUTERS/ Osman Orsal

Defense News: US Begins Removing Patriot Missiles from Turkey

ANKARA, Turkey — The United States has started pulling its Patriot missiles stationed on Turkish soil, Turkish officials said.

"We do not think this is the best time to withdraw these batteries," said one senior Turkish diplomat. "This is a delicate time for our border with Syria."

On Oct. 3 and 4, Russian warplanes twice violated Turkish airspace during Moscow's bombing campaign in Syria aimed at bolstering the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Then on Oct. 7, the Turkish military said that Syria-based missile systems harassed Turkey's warplanes while eight F-16 jets were on patrol along the Syria border. Turkey also said an unidentified MiG-29 harassed its jets Oct. 6, prompting the Foreign Ministry to summon the Russian ambassador three times in protest.

Update #1: US withdraws air defense missiles from Turkey’s Kurdish southeast -- Rudaw
Update #2: US Pulling Patriot Missiles Stationed in Turkey -- Sputnik

WNU editor: Both Germany and the U.S. did not hesitate to withdraw their Patriot missile batteries when their agreement with Turkey was over. Talk about bad timing in view of how tense the entire region is (besides sending the wrong message) .... which in turn tells me that there is more to this story than what they are telling us.

The Engineer Who Made The Patriot Missile Possibe Dies At 91

Patriot Missile Engineer Dies -- UPI

SARASOTA, Fla., Jan. 4 (UPI) -- Zdislaw Starostecki, a Polish soldier in World War II who became a U.S. engineer and one of the designers of the Patriot missile, has died at 91.

His son, Andrew, told the Polish news agency PAP, his father died minutes before midnight Dec. 31. Starostecki had been living in Sarasota, Fla., with his wife, Irene, the Patch news service reported.

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Update: Patriot missile designer dies at age 91 in Florida -- Washington Post

My Comment: The Greatest Generation did not only win the Second World War, but they also laid the groundwork for our safety and security by developing weapon systems that protect us to this day. Zdislaw Starostecki and the Patriot Missile System is just another example of what this generation has given to us.