Ukraine Should Soon Have A New Air-Defense Missile That's Almost As Good As The American Patriot

A localized 5V55 or 48N6 missile could bring Ukraine's huge, ammunition-deprived S-300 force back into action

A Ukrainian S-300 battery firing in 2021. Via Wikimedia Commons

Ukrainian industry is developing a new surface-to-air missiles for the Ukrainian air force’s hundreds of S-300 launchers—one that could also be compatible with European radars.

The new made-in-Ukraine SAM probably isn’t quite equal to Ukraine’s best SAMs, its American-made Patriots, but it could be close enough.

And that’s a very, very big deal as Russia’s wider war on Ukraine grinds on, Russian bombardment of Ukrainian cities and power plants escalates and U.S. aid to Ukraine dwindles to nothing under the leadership of pro-Russia president Donald Trump.

An improved, localized 5V55 or 48N6 missile should be lighter, longer-ranging, more maneuverable, more accurate and—with modern components—cheaper than the Soviet-made 5V55 and 48N6 Ukraine’s S-300 batteries have been firing.

Or had been firing. It’s possible the Ukrainian air force effectively ran out of missiles for its S-300 batteries as long ago as mid-2023.