The United States has not yet decided whether to allow Ukraine to manufacture missiles for the Patriot systems. US President Donald Trump has stated that Washington is considering the matter, but no final decision has been made. The US is taking a cautious approach to granting licences for the production of such weapons.
Briefly about the main points
- The US is considering granting a licence for the production of Patriot missiles in Ukraine.
- Donald Trump has stated that no final decision has yet been made.
- Washington is taking a cautious approach to the transfer of manufacturing licences.
- Ukraine has been discussing cooperation with Raytheon in the field of ground-based air defence.
- The delivery of ready-to-deploy interceptors remains important in the short term.
Washington has not yet made a decision
According to the Financial Times, Trump said he was not sure whether Ukraine would be allowed to produce missiles Patriot. The matter is currently under consideration by the US administration.
The discussion centres specifically on the possible licensing of production, rather than the transfer of the entire Patriot system. Public statements regarding potential cooperation refer primarily to the interceptor missiles for this system.
The US’s cautious approach to licensing means that political signals regarding cooperation have yet to be translated into formal agreements. The content of these agreements will determine which technologies or manufacturing operations may be made available to the Ukrainian side.
Negotiations with Raytheon and the need for interceptors
23 July Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with a delegation from Raytheon, part of RTX. The Office of the President reported that the parties discussed the co-production of interceptors and joint efforts to strengthen ground-based air defence. Raytheon For her part, she expressed an interest in such opportunities.
The Ukrainian authorities link the potential licence to the need to strengthen their missile defence capabilities more quickly. In early July, Zelenskyy emphasised the critical need for additional interceptor missiles for the Patriot system.
At the same time, localising production cannot instantly replace existing supply chains. Scaling up the production of complex interceptors requires technical documentation, components, a production cycle and quality control. Therefore, off-the-shelf missiles will be of key importance in the near future: in April, Raytheon announced a $3.7 billion contract to supply GEM-T interceptors to Ukraine.
Patriot uses various types of interceptors. Raytheon manufactures the GEM-T, whilst Lockheed Martin — PAC-3 MSE. It has not yet been publicly specified exactly what a potential agreement with Ukraine might entail.
Production is also growing in partner countries
At the same time, the US is expanding its own production capacity for PAC-3 MSE interceptors. In January, Lockheed Martin announced plans to increase annual production capacity from approximately 600 to 2,000 units as part of a seven-year programme.
This suggests that domestic production in Ukraine could be a long-term strategy for strengthening air defence, rather than a quick fix to meet the current demand for missiles. The way forward will depend on the US decision regarding the licence and the specific terms of cooperation.
