The National Interest: Russia’s Modernized Iskander Missiles Evade Patriot Defenses
The National Interest reports that Russia’s upgraded Iskander missiles use quasi-ballistic flight paths and sharp maneuvers to bypass Ukraine’s U.S.-made Patriot air defense systems.
According to analysts from The National Interest, the upgraded Iskander missile systems have enabled the Russian military to effectively bypass Ukraine’s air defense network, including the U.S.-made Patriot systems.
The publication noted that recent Russian technological developments have proven more effective than Ukrainian countermeasures. The analysts pointed out that Russia has altered the flight path of its Iskander missiles, allowing them to maneuver differently when launched against targets in Ukraine.
Unlike traditional ballistic missiles, the modernized Iskander follows a quasi-ballistic trajectory. During the final stage of its flight, the Iskander-M performs sharp dives and unpredictable maneuvers, exploiting gaps in the radar coverage of Patriot batteries and reducing their ability to respond effectively to incoming threats.
Earlier, former Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Igor Romanenko stated that the effectiveness of Patriot systems in Ukraine had fallen to around six percent. He attributed this decline to the continuous modernization of Russian missiles, which maintain high speed in their terminal phase and perform active maneuvers-making interception extremely difficult.