Patriot missile shortage created 'window of vulnerability' Russia is exploiting

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Photograph: Sebastian Apel/APGerman soldiers fire a Patriot missile from a Nato installation in Chania, Greece. Photograph: Sebastian Apel/APRussia This article is more than 1 month oldPatriot missile shortage has created ‘window of vulnerability’ Russia is exploiting in UkraineThis article is more than 1 month oldCountries that rely on US-made air defence system feel increasingly exposed as interceptor supplies dwindle

Peter Beaumont Senior international correspondentTue 2 Jun 2026 14.26 BSTLast modified on Wed 3 Jun 2026 02.30 BSTSharePrefer the Guardian on GoogleRussia is exploiting a critical global shortage of air defence interceptor missiles as it ramps up its airstrikes against Ukraine, amid warnings that a shortfall for the Patriot system in particular is creating a “window of vulnerability” for the countries that rely on them.

The MIM-104 Patriot manufactured by Raytheon and Lockheed Martin is the primary surface-to-air system of the US military to shoot down ballistic missiles, and has been widely relied on by US allies – not least in the Gulf, as well as by Ukraine.

Each individual battery, consisting of multiple elements, costs about $1bn (£740m) and their heavy use during the current protracted US-Israeli campaign against Iran, in addition to Ukraine, has triggered a scramble for the dwindling supply of interceptor missiles.

On Tuesday, in the aftermath of the latest massive Russian air raid on Ukraine – in which Moscow fired 73 missiles and almost 700 drones – President Volodymyr Zelenskyy repeated his plea from last week to the US for more stocks of interceptors, as experts warn that the already well-documented shortages will have been noted from China to Iran, even as the US moves to step up production.

This article was aggregated automatically by CyberWire Daily's newsfeed engine. Original reporting: www.theguardian.com.