Ukraine risks finding itself in an acute air defense shortage due to the large-scale use of PAC-3 interceptor missiles in the conflict between the US and Iran. This is reported by Bloomberg.
The intensity of hostilities in the Persian Gulf region has forced allies to spend more than 1,000 expensive missiles in the past 11 days alone. For comparison, over the four years of full-scale russian invasion, Kyiv has received a total of about 600 such units. This imbalance is worrying the Ukrainian leadership, as the world's stock of interceptors is running out faster than the industry can replenish them.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasizes that Patriot systems remain the top priority for protection against russian ballistic and cruise missiles such as the Kinzhal and Zircon.
At the same time, the Ukrainian side expresses surprise at the tactics of the Gulf countries, which use scarce PAC-3 missiles to shoot down relatively cheap drones. Against the background of these events, Western officials predict even stricter control over the distribution of ammunition, since European countries have already effectively exhausted their own reserves, transferring assistance to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
In the current situation, Kyiv is looking for ways to support the defense budget by opening controlled exports of its own weapons. In particular, domestic drone manufacturers, such as the Skyfall company, are already receiving requests for UAV supplies from Middle Eastern countries and are ready to ship large batches after receiving permission from the government.
"Kyiv has the opportunity in the near future to turn its hard-won experience in countering Shahed drone attacks into export sales. But these benefits are likely to be partially offset and possibly overshadowed by more intense competition for scarce American air defense interceptors and other munitions that Ukraine still cannot replace in the necessary quantities," Bloomberg Economics analyst Alex Kokcharov said in his report.
As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, during the entire full-scale invasion, Ukraine received about 600 Patriot missiles from partners, which is significantly less than the amount of munitions used during the recent escalation around Iran.
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