Israeli Military Phases Out Patriot Batteries in Favor of Modern Defense Systems

Over the next two months, the Israeli Air Force will decommission several anti-aircraft batteries of the MIM-104 Patriot.

This was reported by The Times of Israel with reference to the Army representatives.

The Israeli Air Force plans to retire its outdated Patriot missile defense systems in the coming months and replace them with more advanced air defense capabilities.

In February, the Israeli Air Force stated it was in the process of decommissioning several Patriot batteries, also known in the country as Yahalom. The personnel operating the systems will undergo retraining on other systems.

“We are currently in the process of reducing the [number of] batteries until the entire system is closed,” said the head of the Aerial Defense Array’s 138th Battalion, which operates the Patriot.

The decommissioned batteries will be replaced with more advanced air defense systems, in particular David’s Sling system and the widely known Israeli-designed Iron Dome.

“We realized that we needed to move forward and improve our defense methods. The innovations in the [air defense] array bring a better operational and maintenance response,” the battalion commander said.

The publication notes that “it is not yet clear what will happen to the Patriot batteries, which are much needed by Ukraine, which seeks to protect its sky from Russian missiles.”

Israeli Patriot

It is known that a certain number of Patriot PAC-2 air defense batteries are in service with the Israel Defense Forces. They are armed with GEM-T missiles, are capable of intercepting aerial targets at a distance of up to 160 km, and have limited potential for intercepting ballistic targets.

According to journalists from The War Zone, at the end of 2023, Israel had 8 batteries with an unknown number of launchers.

The systems appear to be mounted on both semi-trailers and the chassis of German MAN trucks, as suggested by the photos published online.

A number of Israeli Patriot PAC-2 as part of the local modernization program, were brought to the Yahalom version. According to published data, the modernization involves a software and hardware system update, which will allow the use of PAC-3 missiles capable of reliably intercepting ballistic missiles.

Anti-aircraft batteries entered Israeli service in 1991. Their first combat use occurred only in 2014, when the complex was shot down by a Hamas drone launched from the Gaza Strip.

Over the next decade, a system designed to shoot down aircraft intercepted about 10 targets, including Syrian fighter jets that violated Israeli airspace in 2014 and 2018. It was repeatedly used during the current hostilities against Hamas and to intercept missiles from Iran.