Russian MoD source: US patriots couldn’t repel attack on Saudi oil facilities due to low efficiency

Russian MoD source: US patriots couldn’t repel attack on Saudi oil facilities due to low efficiency
# 19 September 2019 16:09 (UTC +04:00)

Some 88 Patriot systems deployed in Saudi Arabia failed to repel attack on Saudi Aramco oil facilities, letting dozens of drones and guided missiles get through defences, a high-ranking source in the Russian Defence Ministry said. The source dismissed the excuse that the US Secretary of State gave to explain the Patriot fiasco, noting that in fact the American air defence system simply has low efficiency, APA reports citing Sputnik.

"The secretary of state's claims that air defence systems around the world demonstrate controversial results in repelling attacks sometimes can only be taken seriously if we are speaking about a single Patriot system, covering one object. But the US had deployed a powerful air defence grid in Saudi Arabia, especially in the north, with a solid radar field", the source said.

The defence ministry source further indicated that if such an air defence grid failed to thwart the attack means that the Aegis and Patriot’s specifications do not reflect their actual performance. The source added that these systems are incapable of repelling a massive use of aerial weapons.

Saudi Aramco refineries were hit hard in a drone attack, claimed by Yemen Houthis, crippling Saudi crude output for several days. In the wake of the attack, US military command for the Middle East suggested sending more air defence missile systems to Saudi Arabia after exisiting ones failed to foil the strike.

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