Patriot Footage Under Scrutiny: German Launcher, Empty Missiles and Missing Evidence

Television network CNN aired a report showing a Patriot air defense system launcher. According to the report, the launcher had been abandoned in a forest near Kyiv because Ukrainian forces had run out of interceptor missiles for it. But, as one of the chief editors the author once worked with used to say, "you have to work more carefully.” Let us start with the fact that the footage shows a Patriot system intended for Germany. In the US Armed Forces, all Patriot launchers use a towed configuration in the form of a fairly large trailer transported by an M983 HEMTT high-mobility tractor. The platform carries a conventional diesel generator that powers the launcher's mechanisms, as well as several armored boxes containing communications systems and computing units. The Bundeswehr, however, ordered a mobile version of the Patriot, with the launcher mounted on a MAN D2866 truck. At first glance, this may not seem like a particularly significant modification. But it is far from that: the result was an entirely new launcher, featuring a modified electrical system, new lifting mechanisms and other changes.