Trump Says Ukraine May Get License to Make Patriot Missiles, but Production Could Take Years

President Trump announced this week that Ukraine could soon receive a license to manufacture Patriot missiles. The statement came at the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey. Ukraine’s actual production of the missiles may not begin for years.

RTX and Lockheed Martin have not yet partnered with Ukrainian businesses to build facilities on Ukrainian soil. The Patriot missile uses a solid rocket motor, and the White House has directed the entire U.S. defense industrial base to increase output of those components.

More than $1 billion in Pentagon funds has been allocated for the effort. One government official stated it is “no secret” that solid rocket motor production in the U.S. faces challenges. Ukraine would confront the same issues even if it partners with neighboring countries.

In his remarks at the summit, President Trump said: “It’s a defensive situation, as opposed to an offensive. ” Russian ballistic missile barrages targeting Kyiv have killed at least 50 people in recent days. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has stated that Ukraine badly needs more Patriots.

The system has been used in Israel and around the Persian Gulf to intercept Iranian missiles. Any production facility in Ukraine would become a high-priority target for Russia. Jonathan Rue, an adjunct senior fellow with the Center for a New American Security and an advisory partner at MVP Ventures, said he is not expecting missiles to come off a production line soon.