July 14 (Reuters) - German Defence Minister Boris

Pistorius is set to discuss the possibility of Germany paying

for American Patriot air defence systems for Ukraine, as he

heads to Washington to meet with U.S. Secretary of Defence Pete

Hegseth.

On Sunday, U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. would

send an undisclosed number of Patriots to Ukraine, and that the

European Union would pay for them.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has asked for more

defensive capabilities, among them Patriot systems and missiles,

to fend off daily missile and drone attacks from Russia.

Here is some key information about the Patriot:

WHAT IS THE PATRIOT SYSTEM?

The Patriot, short for Phased Array Tracking Radar for

Intercept on Target, is a mobile surface-to-air missile defence

system developed by Raytheon Technologies.

It is considered one of the most advanced air defence

systems in the U.S. arsenal and has been in service since the

1980s.

A typical battery includes radar and control systems, a

power unit, launchers, and support vehicles. The system can

intercept aircraft, tactical ballistic missiles and cruise

missiles, depending on the interceptor used.

HOW DOES THE PATRIOT WORK?

The system has different capabilities depending on the type

of interceptor used.

The earlier PAC-2 interceptor uses a blast-fragmentation

warhead that detonates in the vicinity of a target, while the

PAC-3 family of missiles uses more accurate technology that hits

the target directly.

It is not clear what kind of Patriot systems have been

donated to Ukraine, but it is likely that Kyiv has at least some

of the newer PAC-3 CRI interceptors.

The system's radar has a range of over 150 km (93 miles),

the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) said in 2015.

Although the Patriot was not originally designed to

intercept hypersonic weapons and Raytheon has not yet confirmed

if it is able to do so, in May 2023 the U.S. confirmed Ukraine

had used it to shoot down a Russian Kinzhal missile, which

Moscow claims is hypersonic.

Since January 2015, the Patriot has intercepted more than

150 ballistic missiles in combat operations, Raytheon says on

its website.

HOW WIDELY IS IT USED?

Raytheon has built and delivered over 240 Patriot fire

units, according to its website.

These have been shipped to 19 countries, according to

Raytheon, including the U.S., Germany, Poland, Ukraine, Japan,

Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

In January, Axios reported the U.S. had transferred about 90

Patriot interceptors from Israel to Ukraine.

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?

A newly produced single Patriot battery costs over $1

billion, including $400 million for the system and $690 million

for the missiles in a battery, according to the Center for

Strategic and International Studies.

Patriot interceptors are estimated at around $4 million per

missile, CSIS says.

WHY DOES UKRAINE WANT MORE PATRIOTS?

Kyiv has consistently asked Western allies for more air

defences to protect critical infrastructure and civilian areas

from frequent Russian missile and drone attacks.

While effective at intercepting missiles and aircraft,

Patriots are a costly way to shoot down low-budget drones.

Still, Ukrainian officials say they are essential to defending

key targets from Russia's escalating long-range attacks.

Russia says it sees the Patriots as a direct escalation.

Foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in May that

supplying more systems to Ukraine would delay the chances of

peace.