MOSCOW, August 11. /TASS/. A shortage of expensive interceptor missiles, including the Patriot, is forcing the Pentagon and the Western defense industry to shift to a decentralized model of mass-produced and relatively inexpensive weapons - including drones and air defense systems - manufactured across various continents, Alexander Stepanov, a military expert at the Institute of Law and National Security at the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA), told TASS.

"There is a phasing out of outdated weapons systems, a transformation of the military-industrial complex, and the inclusion of new players capable of mass-producing cheaper products. We are witnessing a military-technical transformation of the entire Western defense industry under US leadership, its clustering, and the creation of a decentralized model with production localized across various continents," the expert said, commenting on a report in The New York Times about the Patriot stockpile dropping below 1,700 missiles.

According to him, expensive interceptor missiles, such as the PAC-3, do not meet the needs of the current "war economy" - their cost is disproportionate compared to the inexpensive drones they are designed to shoot down. Instead, there is a shift toward mass-produced, low-cost systems, including interceptor drones and new-generation missiles. As the Pentagon noted, for the new GBAM (Ground-Based Affordable Mass) system, the price per unit should not exceed $250,000.

Stepanov believes that countries in the Asia-Pacific region, including South Korea and Japan, are playing an active role in global supply chains and the localization of the production process, creating extraterritorial military-industrial clusters. "On the one hand, we are seeing a certain consolidation of the Asian, European, and American military-industrial complexes, on the other hand, we are seeing the creation of relatively autonomous capabilities for certain players to meet their own national needs and ensure coverage of the global market," the expert noted.