INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
The Pentagon is finalizing plans to send Patriot missile batteries that can shoot down incoming missiles to Ukraine, United States media
reported Tuesday.As Russia has ramped up missile strikes on key Ukrainian infrastructure, the administration of President Joe Biden could
announce the deployment as early as this week, United States officials told The New York Times and CNN
three are required to operate it in combat.The United States Army's first Patriot battalion was activated in 1982, but the system was not
used in combat until 1991 during Operation Desert Storm, the international air and ground offensive against Iraqi forces who had invaded
Kuwait.Patriot has intercepted more than 150 ballistic missiles in combat since 2015, and has also undergone more than 3,000 ground and
1,400 flight tests, primary contractor Raytheon says.When Russia invaded in February, Ukraine's air defenses largely consisted of
Soviet-era planes and missile systems, which Kyiv used effectively to deny Moscow air superiority.They have since been significantly
HAWK systems and Stinger missiles have also been donated.
