Sending more is an “absolute priority,” Baerbock said during a trip to Kyiv on Tuesday, where she said Berlin had helped raised €1 billion to support Ukraine’s aerial protection.
While the German initiative also covers alternatives such as SAMP/T, NASAMS, HAWK, IRIS-T or S-300 air defense systems, it's the Raytheon-developed Patriots that are most effective against attacks.
“There is no European leadership and no unity between the main actors,” said Nico Lange, a former chief of staff at Germany's defense ministry and now a fellow at think tank CEPA.
One of the reasons for the reluctance to send Patriots is that they are expensive — around $1 billion per unit — and each interceptor missile it fires costs millions.
What's more, countries aren't willing to accept the blow to their own air defenses necessary to make good on deliveries to Ukraine, said Fabian Hoffmann, a researcher working on missile technology at the University of Oslo.
Poland, a critical conduit for arms heading to Ukraine, has also said no to donating one of its units as Prime Minister Donald Tusk insists there isn't a back-up.
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