The defence system will be delivered under the US’ military aid package announced in December 2022.
The Netherlands has confirmed it intents to supply the Patriot missile defence system to support the Ukrainian Armed Forces in their fight against the Russian invasion.
The announcement comes after Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s recent visit with US President Joe Biden.
During the bilateral meeting, Rutte revealed that the Phased Array Tracking Radar to Intercept On Target (PATRIOT) system will be delivered by the Netherlands as part of the US’ military aid package announced in December 2022.
The US’ initiative to equip Ukrainian forces with the Patriot system was also joined by Germany earlier this month.
“We have the intention to join what you are doing with Germany on the Patriots project, so the air defence system. I think that is important that we join that. I discussed it also, this morning, with Olaf Scholz of Germany,” Rutte added, as stated in a White House statement published on 17 January.
According to the Dutch Ministry of Defence, the Netherlands is the only country, apart from the US and Germany, that can supply the Patriot system to Ukraine.
Meanwhile, the Australian Department of Defence (DoD) has also increased its efforts to support the war-torn nation by confirming the deployment of up to 70 Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel to train the Ukrainian troops.
This new Australian training mission, called ‘Operation Kudu’, is being conducted under the UK-led international training programme to hone the battle skills of Ukrainian soldiers.
The Australian contingent has already departed from Darwin to commence the training activities later this week in the UK.
Operation Kudu will primarily focus on enhancing the basic infantry tactics of the Ukrainian soldiers to undertake missions in urban and wooded environments.
LINK: https://www.army-technology.com/news/netherlands-patriot-system-ukraine/
