A sizable number of US Patriot air defence missiles have been moved from Europe towards the Middle East as Washington diverts resources to help its war on Iran, leaving concerning gaps in Europe’s air defences against Russia, US defence officials told The Associated Press.
Two Patriot missile systems were sent from Germany to Turkey as several ballistic missiles were fired towards Turkey from Iran, according to the Turkish Defence Ministry and three US officials speaking anonymously to discuss sensitive military matters.
A demonstration of the Patriot weapons system.US Department of Defence
The Patriot is a surface-to-air guided missile system that was first deployed in the 1980s and can target aircraft, cruise missiles and shorter-range ballistic missiles. One of the officials said stocks of Patriot missiles were “absolutely” dwindling in Europe and elsewhere because of the war in Iran, and added the situation was “pretty concerning”.
But asked to comment on the missiles being moved, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement to AP: “The US military has more than enough munitions, ammo, and weapons stockpiles to achieve the goals of Operation Epic Fury laid out by President [Donald] Trump – and beyond.”
The war in Ukraine has shown how effective the Patriot system is against a wide range of threats including manoeuvrable hypersonic missiles such as Russia’s Kinzhal, one of the officials said.
AP