Patriot missile manufacturers begin evaluating potential factory construction in Ukraine
Photo: Patriot air defense system (Getty Images)
Companies producing Patriot interceptor missiles are in the early stages of evaluating potential manufacturing in Ukraine, according to Aviation Week.
US companies are ready to plan
This development comes just weeks after US President Donald Trump made a pledge to Ukraine. However, RTX and Lockheed Martin say that it is still too early to draft a concrete plan, the outlet notes.
At the NATO summit in Türkiye, Trump promised Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to grant a license for Patriot production.
"That's pretty cool, right? This way, you can't complain that we're not giving 'em enough," he said.
What Lockheed Martin says
At the Farnborough Airshow, both RTX and Lockheed Martin stated they are in talks with the US government regarding the project's implementation.
"All I could say is it's early, and we're having discussions with the US Army and, basically, we're going to support the US Army and the administration on what they want to go do," says Tim Cahill, President of Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control.
He also noted that they would support any of the proposed options.
Lockheed Martin produces the Patriot Advanced Capability-3 Missile Segment Enhancement (PAC-3 MSE) interceptor along with a seeker provided by Boeing. On July 20, the company also announced it is developing a lower-cost interceptor, the PAC-3 Advanced Capability Effector (ACE), which will cost less than half as much as the PAC-3 MSE.
Cahill pointed out that it would be logical to manufacture the new missile in Europe or other partner nations, using less complex components. However, a new supplier would be required for the missile's seeker system.
He declined to comment, however, on whether the ACE could be tied to Ukraine's license to build Patriot missiles.
RTX in talks
RTX is also engaged in early-stage discussions regarding how it might be involved.
As a reminder, the company builds both the launcher and the PAC-2 PAC-2 Guidance Enhanced Missile-Tactical (GEM-T) interceptor.
Raytheon is also involved
Tom Laliberty, President of Land and Air Defense Systems at Raytheon, told reporters on July 20 that the process has only just begun. He added that the company would follow the US government's lead.
Laliberty explained that the company uses various levels of its supply chain globally:
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suppliers that manufacture components;
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maintenance centers where interceptors are upgraded and recertified;
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full-scale integrated production.
"With Ukraine, working with the United States government, we are working on all three of those kinds of lines of effort to determine what is feasible and what is best for Ukraine," he said.
Raytheon was previously awarded a contract to build 600 PAC-2 GEM-T missiles for Ukraine. A portion of this production will be handled by COMLOG, its joint venture with MBDA Germany, while the rest will be manufactured in the US.
Recently, Zelenskyy noted that a Ukrainian team is working to secure licenses for manufacturing missiles for Patriot systems, adding that a political agreement has already been reached.
Ukraine would like to secure 300 missiles for Patriot air defense systems from its allies for the winter, Zelenskyy stated.
