Ukraine can destroy Russian ballistic missiles even without Patriot systems – it already has sufficient weapons; all that’s needed are a few permits, a retired Navy rear admiral, is senior director of the Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies Mark Montgomery stated in his column for The Washington Post.
He notes that President Donald Trump’s decision to grant Ukraine licenses to produce interceptor missiles for the Patriot system is a good move, but it will take years to ramp up production.
At the same time, the shortage of these missiles is already being felt. And Moscow is seeking to take advantage of this by investing in increased production of Iskanders, RM-48Us, and Zircons, preparing to destroy Ukraine’s energy infrastructure this winter.
"There is a faster solution. It does not involve building factories or expanding production lines. It involves making better use of what Ukraine already has in the air," Montgomery said.
These are Extended Range Attack Munitions (ERAM) missiles. The United States has already approved the sale of 3,350 of these missiles to Ukraine. Launched from F-16 fighter jets, they could destroy launchers on Russian territory. "With their extensive range, ERAMs will also allow Ukrainian pilots to engage high-value targets such as supply hubs, ammunition depots, air bases and command centers without flying into the densest concentrations of Russian surface-to-air missile batteries," he said.
These missiles are also capable of destroying targets amid intense electronic warfare. However, simply supplying ERAMs is not enough. These missiles come with one restriction: they can only be used by Soviet-era Ukrainian aircraft, which are unsuitable for this operation.
However, if this restriction were lifted, Ukrainian F-16s could be destroying ballistic missile launchers within just a few weeks. The best solution is to update the F-16’s software.
This would allow for the retrieval of target coordinates and the programming of the ERAM’s flight path and final target selection even before the aircraft takes off, while the pilot would be able to update the coordinates during flight (in the event of pursuing a mobile missile launch complex).
A faster but less effective solution would be to equip Ukrainian F-16 fighters with weapon pylons manufactured by the Danish firm Terma.
These pylons allow the ERAM system to be integrated onto F-16s and will provide a more limited, yet still significant, improvement in target management. Such measures are inexpensive and can be implemented quickly.
"Stop the missiles at the launcher. The technology exists, the platform exists, and the weapon is already approved for sale. A small change in U.S. policy would make a big difference in Ukraine’s fight for survival," Montgomery said.
