MIM-104 Patriot: Difference between revisions

====Trial by fire====

[[File:Patriot radar anmpq53.jpg|thumb|The AN/MPQ-53 radar system used by the Patriot for target detection, tracking and missile guidance.]]

 

Throughout the war, Patriot missiles attempted engagement of over 40 hostile ballistic missiles. The success of these engagements, and in particular how many of them were real targets, is still controversial. Postwar video analysis of presumed interceptions by [[MIT]] professor [[Theodore Postol]] suggests that no Scud was actually hit;<ref name="fas_starwars">{{cite web |url=http://www.fas.org/spp/starwars/congress/1992_h/ |title=House Government Operations Committee – The Performance of the Patriot Missile in the Gulf |date=April 7, 1992 |website=[[Federation of American Scientists]] |accessdate=June 13, 2009 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20030115043508/http://www.fas.org/spp/starwars/congress/1992_h/ |archivedate=January 15, 2003}}</ref><ref name="fas_postollewis">{{cite web |url=http://www.fas.org/spp/starwars/docops/pl920908.htm |title=Postol/Lewis Review of Army's Study on Patriot Effectiveness |last1=Postol |first1=Theodore |last2=Lewis |first2=George |website=Federation of American Scientists |date=September 8, 1992 |accessdate=June 13, 2009 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402044331/http://www.fas.org/spp/starwars/docops/pl920908.htm |archivedate=April 2, 2015}}</ref> this analysis is contested by [[Peter D. Zimmerman]], who claimed that photographs of the fuselage of downed SCUD missiles in Saudi Arabia demonstrated that the SCUD missiles were fired into Saudi Arabia and were riddled with fragments from the lethality enhancer of Patriot Missiles.<ref name="fas_insidethearmy">{{cite web |url=http://www.fas.org/spp/starwars/docops/zimmerman.htm |title=A Review of the Postol and Lewis Evaluation of the White Sands Missile Range Evaluation of the Suitability of TV Video Tapes to Evaluate Patriot Performance During the Gulf War |accessdate=June 13, 2009 |first=Peter D. |last=Zimmerman |website=Inside The Army |date=November 16, 1992 |pages=7–9 |via=Federation of American Scientists |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131224183852/http://www.fas.org/spp/starwars/docops/zimmerman.htm |archivedate=December 24, 2013}}</ref>

On March 20, 2017, a [[Qasef-1]] drone was used by [[Houthi]] forces to strike Saudi Patriot systems deployed against Yemeni missiles. Some unnamed military sources in the UAE said: ''"While the Coalition deploys Patriot systems to counter missile threats, the destruction of the Patriots' radar systems enables Houthi and Saleh-aligned forces to target Coalition assets with volleys of missile-fire unhindered."''<ref>{{cite web |url=https://maps.southfront.org/houthi-forces-use-uavs-against-saudi-patriot-anti-aircraft-weapon-systems/ |title=Houthi Forces Use UAVs against Saudi Patriot Anti-Aircraft Weapon Systems |date=March 23, 2017 |website=Southfront.org |accessdate=January 5, 2018}}</ref>

 

 

===Service with the United Arab Emirates===