As Kyiv burns, the West should share air defense technology with Ukraine
Kyiv endured one of the deadliest nights of the entire war in Ukraine overnight Wednesday-Thursday, as Russia unleashed 74 missiles and 496 long-range drones on the Ukrainian capital. At least 20 people were killed and more than 90 injured. An apartment building collapsed after a direct hit and damage occurred across 33 locations, overwhelmingly residential buildings and civilian infrastructure.
The latest strikes are part of Moscow’s continuing campaign of terror against the Ukrainian population. This effort is designed to break civilian morale ahead of another winter season. It’s also a punitive strike meant to make Ukrainians fear the price of their own military successes in attacking Russian logistics and oil infrastructure.
The attack comes just days before President Volodymyr Zelensky is due to attend a NATO summit. There, he will press hard for additional air defense systems. Ukraine says its air defense units intercepted 48 missiles and 476 drones during the most recent attack. Unfortunately, 25 ballistic missiles punched through. While Ukraine has grown adept at hunting drones, the American-made PAC-3 air defense system remains effectively the only interceptor capable of stopping ballistic missiles. Zelensky said Ukraine would need at least 140 Patriot missiles to repel an attack involving around 70 ballistic missiles, and he stressed that Kyiv was requesting delivery of previously agreed assistance rather than new commitments.
Meeting the need is not an easy task. Recent conflicts in the Middle East have consumed between 50% and 61% of already low U.S. inventories of Patriot and THAAD interceptors, according to analysis from the Center for Strategic and International Studies. This has U.S. commanders fearful over their ability to defend U.S. bases against China’s vast ballistic missile force during a war over Taiwan. Deliveries to Kyiv were cut several times over as a result. At the same time, the United States currently produces roughly 60 to 65 PAC-3 interceptors per month, while Ukraine needs up to 180 monthly to sustain nationwide coverage. That’s because each incoming ballistic missile typically requires two or three interceptors to guarantee a kill. A single PAC-3 MSE takes over two years to manufacture, Lockheed Martin’s planned expansion to 2,000 units annually will materialize only in the early 2030s, and 17 other allied nations operating Patriot systems stand in the same queue.
The shortage is often presented as a logistical challenge, a matter of supply chains and financial capacity. But Russia proves it is a political one. Moscow converted its economy to a wartime footing years ago, running defense plants around the clock and outproducing the combined West in key munitions categories. While key inputs for air defense weapons are inherently limited and additional skilled labor takes time to train, the U.S. doesn’t treat interceptor manufacturing as a wartime imperative. Nor do the Europeans.
In the wake of Thursday’s attack, Zelensky reiterated his request to Washington for a license to manufacture Patriot missiles. Ukraine wants to build domestic plants for Patriot-compatible components, feeding its own defense instead of waiting in line. It would take years, but Israel shows where that road can lead. American support and industrial partnership over decades have helped Israeli companies develop air defenses such as the Arrow and Iron Dome systems.
For Ukraine to replicate that trajectory, the West should share sensitive technology with Kyiv. Doing so will save lives and bolster the West’s defensive strength via Ukraine’s battle-tested innovation.