Defense Express reported the information.Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz recently announced that Ukraine would receive additional Patriot air defense systems within a matter of weeks, not months. A timeline that seems surprisingly short given the known challenges of transporting, installing, and especially training operators for such advanced systems.Speaking alongside U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer after the signing of a new bilateral security agreement, Merz emphasized that the delivery would be “fast,” though not a matter of hours or days — rather, “weeks.” Still, even this accelerated schedule seems to stretch the limits of what’s considered feasible, particularly when factoring in operator training, which typically takes several months under standard conditions.According to Defense Express, it appears that these Patriots are being redirected from existing contracts with third-party countries, possibly Switzerland. This kind of reallocation would speed up delivery but wouldn’t solve the more complex issue: training Ukrainian crews to operate them.Last year, Germany launched an accelerated 6-day-per-week training course for Ukrainian Patriot operators, cutting the original timeline of “several months” down to just 1.5 months for a group of 70 soldiers. While already extremely compressed, even that schedule doesn’t quite align with Merz’s promise of a “weeks-long” timeline — unless the Ukrainian military has been training new crews behind the scenes.There are a few possible explanations:Germany may have continued training new Ukrainian Patriot crews proactively, even without firm delivery commitments.The Ukrainian Armed Forces may now have the capacity to train crews internally, thanks to the experience gained from earlier Patriot deployments.The delivery of these systems may have been quietly agreed upon earlier, with training already completed and systems held back due to political or logistical reasons — possibly tied to changes in the U.S. administration.Or, in the most pessimistic scenario, those “weeks” refer only to the time needed to ship the systems to Europe, with operator training still ahead — which would push the real deployment timeline back into the “months” category.Another critical issue that Defense Express highlights: getting more Patriot batteries is only part of the equation. Ukraine will also need a sufficient supply of missiles to make them operational. Transferring the launchers without guaranteeing a steady supply of interceptors would render the systems largely ineffective on the battlefield.While the promise of quick delivery is encouraging, the logistics and training realities suggest there may be more complexity behind the scenes than meets the eye.Donald Trump, during a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, announced agreements on the supply of weapons to Ukraine.On July 15, media reported that almost all U.S. weapons that the North Atlantic Alliance will purchase for transfer to Ukraine are ready for immediate shipment.At the same time, Trump stated on July 16 that the first Patriot air defense systems are already being shipped to allies who will purchase them from Washington for transfer to Ukraine.