'Patriot' Missiles, Which Poland Wants on Its Border, Compared to NASAMS

After a believed Ukrainian missile struck inside Poland's border last week and killed two people, Germany offered to provide additional "Patriot" missile launchers to fellow NATO member Poland amid fears of a dangerous escalation in Russia's war.

Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak announced on Twitter Monday that he had accepted this offer and planned to propose that the launchers should be stationed at Poland's shared border with Ukraine.

Officials from Poland and NATO have said that the deadly missile was likely fired by Ukraine as it tried to defend itself from a wave of Russian missile attacks last week.

Jakub Kumoch, head of the Polish president's International Policy Bureau, told the Polish TVN24 channel Thursday that the missile probably missed its Russian target and its self-destruct system did not work, which "unfortunately led to a tragedy."

Kumoch and other officials like NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg have still asserted that Russia is ultimately to blame for the deadly incident because it waged war against Ukraine to begin with.

The Patriot is a surface-to-air missile system used by the U.S. and its allies, but it bears some key similarities and differences to another type of air defense system that has become a subject of discussion in the war.

National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS) were developed by the American manufacturer Raytheon and the Norway-headquartered Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace. The Patriot is also produced by Raytheon, according to Army-technology.com.

Newer variants of the Patriot systems, which more than a dozen countries currently operate, can engage ballistic and cruise missiles, loitering munitions, and aircraft, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies' Missile Threat site.

Sean Spoonts, a U.S. Navy veteran and editor-in-chief of Special Operations Forces Report (SOFREP), told Newsweek that the Patriot is "the gold standard in terms of anti-missile systems." In comparison to the medium-range NASAMS, the Patriot system can shoot at short, medium and long ranges, Spoonts said.

Raytheon describes NASAMS as a "highly adaptable" air defense solution that can be used to "identify, engage and destroy current and evolving enemy aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicle and emerging cruise missile threats." The system is operated by 13 countries, according to Raytheon.

The U.S. has provided Ukraine with NASAMS to help bolster its air defenses against Russian attacks amid the ongoing war. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III said in a briefing Wednesday that the U.S.-provided NASAMS in Ukraine have had a 100 percent success rate in intercepting Russian missiles.

Unlike the NASAMS, the U.S. has not sent any Patriot systems to Ukraine, even though the war-torn country has requested them.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba tweeted Thursday that he had expressed to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a call that Ukraine needed the additional type of air defense.

"I thanked the U.S. for its crucial defense assistance and emphasized that deliveries of air defense systems to Ukraine need to be sped up," Kuleba wrote. "NASAMS have proved their efficiency already. I am also convinced that the time for 'Patriots' has come."

The U.S. previously announced in early March, days after Russia launched its war against Ukraine on February 24, that it was sending several Patriot systems to Poland to boost the NATO nation's security in light of the outbreak of conflict.

Newsweek reached out to Germany's Defense Ministry for comment.