Europe lacks air defense for war with Russia
NATO countries do not have enough air defense systems to protect important infrastructure in the event of a major war against Russia.
Former US Army commander Ben Hodges stated this on the Lithuanian Delfi channel, PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
“We can see over the last couple of years that Russia is willing to use millions of dollars worth of weapons against civilian infrastructure, just like they do in Ukraine every day.
And we should not delude ourselves that our cities will not become targets for the Russians if they make a terrible decision, make such a miscalculation.
But if they decide to attack a NATO country, then undoubtedly they will decide to attack the infrastructure. Because the Alliance depends on the ability to quickly deploy reinforcements. Therefore, we can assume that any part of the infrastructure, everything that is needed for command and control, will be hit,” Hodges said.
At the same time, he emphasized that NATO air defense and missile defense systems are not ready for a major war.
“It’s terrible to imagine such a picture, but it’s stupid not to think about it, and not to do everything we can to protect these cities of ours. Air and missile defense are needed right now, and we don't have nearly what we need.
The United States now has one Patriot battalion for all of Europe. And most of it is needed only to protect Ramstein, an air base in Germany.
And it's not enough for everyone to just buy more Patriots. We need a solution in which the entire Alliance will participate,” the general added.
Europe lacks air defense for war with Russia.