Nobody is just sitting around with extra Patriot, S-200, S-300, or especially THAAD systems ready to be donated. These assets were acquired in limited quantities and serve as the backbone of their own air defense; nobody wants to hand them over and leave themselves completely exposed. When you look at non-Russian hardware, you also have to account for the fact that Ukrainians would need extensive training first, a process that drags on for months. Furthermore, these heavy systems are incredibly expensive and would become immediate targets for Russian forces. You’d essentially need to protect them with mid-range systems like Buk or artillery and MANPADS first. Even then, once an anti-radiation missile finds them, it either knocks out the radar or forces it to shut down and retreat. On top of that, there are endless clusters of Tochka and Iskander missiles just waiting to strike a high-value target.
Mid-range AA systems like the Buk aren't really something NATO countries carry in surplus because they don't typically utilize them. Finland isn't in NATO, and even if they were, I highly doubt they would rush to donate their primary GBAD to Ukraine.
There is another complication with donating F-16s from NATO countries: they are outfitted with NATO IFF transponders and communication suites that would need to be stripped out and replaced with gear compatible with the Ukrainian military. These planes aren't Kalashnikovs—you can't just load them up and start shooting.
Ukraine also operated some Su-27s, which are significantly more sophisticated than the F-16. No one in NATO uses those.
Anthony Smith7 said:Ukraine has its own S-300 units left over from the USSR era, but they’ve clearly been trashed or are pretty much useless at this point.
Besides, we're talking about 90s tech here. It's Russian tech, specifically. We used to parade similar stuff around during local holidays back in '95 when a Super Nintendo was considered the peak of high-tech.
The Russians have likely tweaked their most advanced jets and missiles specifically to dodge or jam the S-300, after all, they're the ones who built the damn things. They probably even rigged their own systems to sniff out where those Ukrainian S-300 radars are emitting signals from, then just leveled the locations.
And obviously, nobody's selling them a modern S-400 system.
Some of those Ukrainian S-300s probably survived well enough to help take down some Russian planes and missiles, but you have to wonder to what extent.
A system that can swat aircraft and missiles out of the sky from 300 kilometers away would be worth its weight in gold for Ukraine. Maybe if the Slovak or Bulgarian versions were modernized enough to handle cutting-edge jets.
But again, that assumes those countries would even consider giving them up, which would mean the US would have to compensate them with Patriots and billions of dollars in value.
The production of Patriot missiles takes time, and training for the Patriot system takes time too. Imagine you were the Bulgarian Minister of Defense; you decide to donate all your aircraft and heavy AA systems to Ukraine, and suddenly Russian jets are flying over Bulgaria, and all you can do is watch helplessly because the Patriots won't arrive for three months—and even then, they might not be operational for another six. What would you tell the Bulgarian public? That you're an idiot or a traitor? A government's and its military's primary responsibility is always to their own country.
