The US Army plans to spend more than $1.3 billion on Patriot missiles in the next fiscal year, which begins on October 1, and has quietly quadrupled its planned purchases of these air defense systems. Patriot missiles have long proven their effectiveness not only for Ukraine, but also for protecting US military facilities in the Middle East, Bloomberg reports.

According to documents accompanying the Pentagon's budget for fiscal year 2026, on April 16, a commission of high-ranking US Army military officials responsible for determining weapons requirements increased the plan to purchase the most advanced Patriot interceptor missiles from 3,376 to 13,773 units. These figures do not yet guarantee the conclusion of contracts, but may be taken into account by Congress when approving the defense budget.

The US Army has already purchased more than 2,000 PAC-3 MSE missiles by 2024, with another 230 in 2024 and 214 this year. Almost $946 million has been requested for 2026 to purchase another 224 missiles, including nearly $400 million to support Operation Atlantic Resolve, aimed at strengthening NATO's defense in Europe.

An additional tax and budget bill signed by Trump allocates another $366 million for the purchase of 96 more missiles.

Production will be increased even further

According to Tom Karako, an expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, “Quadrupling Patriot purchases is the right thing to do, but it's not enough: long-term contracts and funding are needed. Even with that, it will take years to build up the arsenal.”

Lockheed Martin has already announced record deliveries: in 2023, the company delivered 500 missiles to customers, 30% more than a year earlier. In 2024, the manufacturer plans to increase production by another 20%.