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Catching the Pentagon’s bluff? Radio Minsk questions U.S. Patriot pledge but gets the facts wrong
Yelfimov and Bogodel discussed arms shipments to Ukraine.
Political analyst Vadim Yelfimov said on Radio Minsk that the U.S. cannot meet its promised Patriot missile output, because since the 1980s it has produced only 1,100. But missile manufacturers’ figures contradict that claim.
Political analyst Vadim Yelfimov questioned whether the United States can fulfill a plan to produce 1,600 missiles for Patriot systems in the next five years.
"I looked into it: Patriot systems have been in production since the early 1980s. Over that entire period — about 40 years — do you know how many missiles were made? 1,100 missiles. Just 1,100 missiles, at least according to official statistics. So they want to turn out in five years what they didn’t make in 40. To me, that says they’re bluffing," Yelfimov said on Radio Minsk on July 16, 2025, as he discussed plans to supply arms to Ukraine with military analyst Andrei Bogodel.
The Patriot surface-to-air missile system is a U.S. air defense platform that intercepts incoming enemy aircraft and missiles, including ballistic missiles. It is manufactured only in the United States.
Lockheed Martin, which makes PAC-3 interceptor missiles for the system, said in March 2025 that it had boosted capacity by one-third and produced more than 500 missiles last year. Three years earlier, it was making 300 a year, and by 2027 it plans to raise output to 650 annually.
Raytheon also produces missiles for the Patriot system. The company makes a little more than 200 PAC-2 missiles a year.
In other words, the 1,100 missiles Yelfimov counted over 40 years were produced by Lockheed Martin and Raytheon together in just two years.
