Germany will relocate its Patriot air defence systems from Slovakia to Lithuania in July to enhance the security of NATO. The move was announced at a summit yesterday in Vilnius, where German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is touring the Baltic. “In addition, we have offered to support Slovakia’s air defence by policing its airspace with our air force,” read a German ministry of defence statement.
The multinational air and missile defence task force in Slovakia will be terminated, and Germany will continue to contribute to Slovakia’s defence by participating in multinational task forces, donating several MANTIS modular air defence systems, and participating in a ring exchange of 15 Leopard 2A4 main battle tanks.
Patriot (Phased Array Tracking Radar to Intercept on Target), is an American system which combines RADAR with surface to air missiles. The German ministry of defence denied a report that their Slovakian system would be relocated to the Baltic as early as this year – stating that no definite date had been decided.
