The Patriot is also the name of a U.S.
Surface-to-Air Missile which, it is claimed by the U.S. Military and
Raytheon, the makers of the system, can shoot down incoming theater ballistic missiles such as the
Scud. Unfortunately for them and anyone under one of these things, it has been fairly conclusively proven by some
MIT physicists and their research team that in fact only one Patriot during the
Gulf War can even be considered to have 'hit' its target, and that in fact it did not in any way prevent that missile from going on and detonating on the ground.
I don't want to sound like I think this system is worthless. On the contrary, doing what it was designed for (destroying incoming airplanes) it's hell on wheels!