Germany is urging US to allow production of Patriot interceptor missiles in Europe, - Pistorius
Germany is calling on the United States to allow the production in Europe of PAC-3 interceptor missiles for the Patriot air defence system.
This was stated by German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius in an interview with the Financial Times, according to Censor.NET.
Germany’s efforts
Pistorius said that last week, during a meeting with US Defence Secretary Pete Hagseth in Washington, he spoke in favour of manufacturing PAC-3 interceptors outside the US.
"We have made it clear… that we are offering to help meet the huge demand that has arisen for these and other American systems by setting up production lines in Europe and in Germany," he said.
Last week, Pistorius and Hegset signed a memorandum of understanding regarding the joint production of American weapon systems in Europe.
Pistorius noted that PAC-3 missiles are ‘broadly speaking’ covered by this agreement. However, he added that further negotiations are required.
"Ultimately, of course, this is a matter of intellectual property. It also depends on whether the Pentagon, the White House and the company itself will agree to this," added the minister, expressing his hope for a positive decision.
Furthermore, Germany is pressing the US to allow it to manufacture long-range Tomahawk missiles under licence on its territory. Berlin has concluded an agreement with Washington to purchase these missiles, which would enable the military to launch strikes against Russia from German territory. However, there is a long waiting list for the delivery of these much-sought-after weapons.
What led up to it
- European Union member states have received a request from Ukraine to use several billion euros from a loan totalling 90 billion euros to purchase PAC-3 missiles for the Patriot air defence systems.
- The European Commission had previously received a list from Ukraine of the military equipment on which it plans to spend the bulk of the remaining €6 billion from the defence tranche of the loan — most of the items relate to equipment manufactured in Ukraine and the EU, predominantly drones.
- President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported that Ukraine had reached an agreement with the US on monthly supplies of interceptor missiles for the Patriot system. At the same time, he highlighted a shortage of these missiles: according to him, Ukraine needs to receive at least around 5 per cent of US-manufactured missiles of this type to get through the winter.
- Back in August, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that the country would need at least 300 Patriot interceptors to get through the winter, and proposed that the US sell 5–10 per cent of its reserves to Ukraine: "America could replenish its stocks, and we would be able to get through the winter."
