Patriot missed again, Saudis want the Russian Abakan missile system
RYADH, ($1=3.75 Saudi Arabian Riyal) – The recent attack by Yemeni Hussites on oil facilities in Saudi Arabia has once again proved the generally accepted thesis – the US anti-aircraft missile system Patriot simply can not intercept more than 50% of the missiles fired.
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The Janes portal described a similar episode. The Yemeni group Ansar Allah (ie Yemeni Hussites) announced and carried out an air attack on several facilities of the national energy company Aramco from Saudi Arabia.
Details of the attack: One Zulfiqar ballistic missile and eight Sammad-3 drones were fired at the Ras Tanura oil terminal, five more Badr missiles, and two Sammad-3 UAVs at oil terminals in the port cities of Jeddah, Jizan, and Naira.
That is, about 1-2 ballistic missiles and two UAVs were used to attack one oil terminal. The density of air defense around these facilities is unknown.
But it is known that Saudi Arabia during this airstrike with its anti-aircraft missile systems Patriot managed to shoot down three ballistic missiles and three drones, ie about 50% of the targets.
Another 50% of Hussite ballistic missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles have managed to hit targets in the cities of Jeddah and Dammam, although the missiles did not hit oil terminals but residential buildings.
Such an episode cannot be considered systematic, but there is no reason to talk about the 100% reliability of the Patriot SAMs, which are in service in Saudi Arabia.
BulgarianMilitary.com reminds you – the US military has Patriot systems at its bases in Iraq, as well as to guard the green zone in Baghdad, where international diplomatic missions are located. Many times in recent years, we and other media have reported successful rocket attacks on various buildings in Iraq.
The American air defense system Patriot and its inefficiency could push the Saudis into the hands of the Russians. We remind you that Riyadh is holding preliminary talks with Russia on the possible purchase of the Abakan anti-aircraft missile system, precisely because the Patriot systems do not manage to intercept all air targets fired by the Hussites in Saudi Arabia.
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