The U.S. Army is planning to allocate more than $1.3 billion toward the purchase of Patriot air-defense missiles in the upcoming fiscal year, and has quietly raised its long-term acquisition target for the advanced interceptors by more than fourfold, reflecting growing demand from both U.S. forces and allies.

The American-made Patriot surface-to-air missile system has been a workhorse for Kyiv in defending against Russian attacks.

Internal Pentagon documents reportedly revealed that the Army has boosted its planned purchases of the most advanced Patriot interceptors from 3,376 to 13,773.