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Russia took a shot at a Patriot battery. And it didn't work. [1]

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Date: 2023-05-17  

Russia claims that it destroyed a Patriot battery with its latest round of missile attacks. I don’t doubt that they were trying to take out a Patriot battery, given that at least 6 of Russia’s precious hypersonic Khinzal missiles were used in this attack. To be worth using that many, they must have thought they had a high-value target to go after. IIRC, Russia has at best a few dozen or so of the Khinzals left at this point. Russia has used them very sparingly through their missile attacks, so seeing six of them used at once — they were trying to overwhelm Ukraine’s air defenses to get a target they thought worth using that many on at once, for sure.

But they didn’t get the job done, apparently, as much as they bragged about doing it.

According to US officials, the Patriot battery was indeed damaged in the attack, but is still operational and it’s radar intact. In fact it seems damage is minor enough that the battery won’t even need to be removed from the field to effect repairs.

Of course, that could be a bit of psyops, too, and the damage could be worse than is being let on, but then again I think our officials would love the chance to poke Russia in the eye about making such an effort, only to come up short. And of course if it is still functional, that’ll be clear soon enough if Russia tries again.

I’m sure Russia will try again, but if 6 of their Khinzal hypersonics plus however many other missiles and drones they fired the other day weren’t enough to get the job done, they’re going to have a tough time sealing the deal. And in the meantime, it’s not like they’re cranking out Khinzals in any sort of quantity. I’m not even sure they have the capacity to make any more at this point given the sanctions.

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/5/17/2169894/-Russia-took-a-shot-at-a-Patriot-battery-And-it-didn-t-work

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