Axios: U.S. Delivers Patriot Missiles From Israeli Stockpiles to Ukraine

28 January, 2025 Launcher of the Patriot PAC-2 air defense system of the Israeli Air Force U.S. military transport aircraft could have delivered Patriot anti-aircraft missiles which are intended for Ukraine from Israel to Poland. This was reported by Axios, which cited three sources familiar with the operation.

It is reported that about 90 missiles were delivered, which most likely belonged to the United States and were stored in a warehouse in Israel. It can also be assumed that the American missiles were replaced by Israeli missiles, which the IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) withdrew from service in the summer of 2024.

Launcher of the modernized Israeli Patriot PAC-2 Yahalom SAM, 2017. Photo credits: Israel Defense Forces

Immediately after the Patriot systems and missiles were put into storage, according to the Financial Times, negotiations began between the governments of Ukraine, the United States, and Israel regarding the transfer of these missiles to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

The possibility of sending missiles, systems or their individual components from Israel to the United States and then to Ukraine was discussed. It is quite possible that a scheme could have been implemented to replace American missile stocks with Israeli ones, excluding Israel from direct arms deliveries in this case. Recently, it was reported that the OSINTdefender project detected flights of U.S.

Air Force C-17 military transport aircraft from Israel to Poland. The starting point for several C-17s was Ramstein Air Base in Germany, and they flew to Israel's Hatzerim Air Base, after which they went to Rzeszow, Poland.

Illustration photo of an American C-17 in Israel, 2023. Source: Senior Airman Edgar Grimaldo

Rzesz?w is the main logistics hub for military aid, which is then sent to Ukraine.

It is worth noting that in addition to missiles, Russian and Soviet-made weapons captured during the fighting in Lebanon could have been delivered to the Patriot. Military observer Yigal Levin detailed that in total, more than 85,000 units of various weapons, ammunition, and equipment were taken from Lebanon to Israel, including about 6,840 units of launchers for ATGMs, RPGs, and grenade launchers.

U.S. warehouses in Israel

It is known that the WRSA-I (War Reserve Stockpile Ammunition-Israel) arsenal is located in Israel. The weapons deployed there are available for use by the U.S.

Department of Defense or, if necessary, for transfer to a foreign state. There is no open, publicly available list of what is in the arsenal, which reportedly consists of several warehouses. Israel benefits from the fact that the United States has its stockpiles on its territory, as in the event of an emergency it reduces the time required for procurement and delivery by the United States.

The stockpiles remain in U.S. ownership until transfer, and Israel pays for the maintenance of the WRSA-I storage facilities and the transportation of defense goods to and from the warehouse.