Babis Proposes European Patriot System

European countries should join forces and jointly develop their own air defense system against ballistic missiles, modeled after the US Patriot system. According to Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis, as reported by Echo24, the successful Airbus project could serve as inspiration.

The Czech prime minister plans to present this proposal at Monday's meeting of the coalition of the willing in Paris, to which he was invited by French President Emmanuel Macron. Babis arrived at this conclusion during the NATO summit in Ankara following a speech by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who described ballistic missiles and drones as Ukraine's biggest current problems.

The Czech prime minister said that the war in Ukraine is now both a drone war and a war of ballistic missiles.

Babis also discussed the issue with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen. At the same time, he criticized the fragmentation of the European defense industry, which produces too many different types of tanks and artillery pieces. In his view, European funds should be concentrated on a single, core system.

The debate over strengthening European defense is intensifying as the US reaches the limits of its production capacity for PAC-3 missiles for the Patriot systems, and deliveries could take years.

Furthermore, Zelensky is negotiating with Donald Trump for a license to manufacture Patriot missiles directly in Ukraine, while he described the Paris talks on a European system as a cheaper and more effective solution for mass production.

(max)