The MIM-104 Patriot is a modern American medium-range anti-aircraft missile system. The first prototypes of the MIM-104 Patriot missile appeared in the late 1960s, and entered service with the US armed forces in 1981. The latest versions of MIM-104 missiles can hit air targets at an altitude of up to 25 km and at a distance of up to 160 km, and can carry a warhead weighing up to 90 kilograms. In the US Army, the Patriot system is often built on a wheeled chassis - most often these are M983 Oshkosh trucks. The MIM-104 Patriot system was developed by Raytheon to replace the MIM-23 Hawk and MIM-14 Nike Hercules missiles. Work on it began in 1961, and test (successful) firing dates back to 1969. However, shortly thereafter, the US military changed its system requirements and decided to use the Track-via-Missile (TVM) system. , which provided for the independent collection of information about the target by an already launched missile. This requirement significantly increased the level of complexity of the whole case and significantly lengthened the work. Only in the late 1970s, it was possible to meet the high requirements of the American armed forces, and since 1981, the MIM-104 Patriot system began to enter service. The Patriot system was originally developed as a theater air defense system to combat enemy aircraft, but since the early 1990s, with the introduction of the MIM-104C missile and the use of much more sophisticated guidance systems and radars, the system has achieved the ability to combat enemy small-scale ballistic missiles. and medium range. The system was used in combat operations mainly in Operation Desert Storm in 1990-1991. The operators of the Patriot system, in addition to the US armed forces, are also Greece, the Netherlands, Israel, Japan and Germany. The system is also offered to Poland as part of the Wisła program.
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