The Ukrainian Armed Forces have changed their tactics for using the Patriot system and have learned to conserve missiles

The Ukrainian military has changed its approach to using the U.S.-made Patriot air defense systems, drawing on combat experience to intercept aerial targets more effectively and conserve expensive missiles.

This was stated by Yuriy Ignat, head of the Communications Department of the Ukrainian Air Force, in an RBC-Ukraine podcast.

 According to him, the Ukrainian military has learned to use the Patriot not only from fixed positions but also for ambushes followed by a change of location.

“You can use the Patriot not as a stationary system—the way the Americans keep it at airfields or bases—but make it, so to speak, ‘roaming’: set up an ambush, shoot down five aircraft, and return unscathed,” Ignat explained.

He also noted that Ukrainian crews have learned to use ammunition more efficiently, specifically by firing a single missile at a single target. In contrast, in the Middle East, in some cases, up to eight missiles were launched at once to intercept a single target.

“That is why we now find ourselves in the crisis we are in—because what was spent in the Middle East would have been enough for us to operate the Patriot systems for several more years,” emphasized the Air Force spokesperson.

Source: Yuriy Ignat, RBC-Ukraine podcast

Ukraine has been waiting for nearly a month for U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hagseth’s signature, which is required for the delivery of missiles for the Patriot and NASAMS air defense systems. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has instructed officials to revisit this issue with the U.S. side.

Earlier, Ignat stated that the Patriot missiles used in the Middle East could last Ukraine for years.

Meanwhile, Ukraine is asking Sweden to help with missiles for the Patriot and IRIS-T systems.

For its part, Russia may intensify its ballistic missile strikes while Ukraine waits for the Patriot missiles.