US and NATO allies move to co-produce AMRAAM missiles in Europe and build a Patriot maintenance hub
The United States opened talks with Germany and other European allies on July 7 to co-produce Raytheon $RTX AMRAAM air-to-air missiles inside Europe and build a maintenance facility for Lockheed Martin $LMT Patriot PAC-3 interceptors. Belgium, Canada, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and Britain are named as participants. The move aims to shore up Western interceptor stockpiles drained by the war in Ukraine.
NATO countries that watched their air defense interceptors run low during the war in Ukraine now have a concrete industrial answer. On July 7, the United States opened talks with Germany and a group of European allies to co-produce Raytheon $RTX AMRAAM air-to-air missiles inside Europe and to build a maintenance facility for Lockheed Martin $LMT Patriot PAC-3 interceptors. Belgium, Canada, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and Britain are named as participants, with a statement of intent set to be signed at a NATO industry forum on the sidelines of the alliance summit in Ankara. The host country for the Patriot maintenance site has not been selected. The initiative builds on work already underway in Europe, including a plant in southern Germany that assembles Patriot rounds through a joint venture with Raytheon. Heavy interceptor use in Ukraine exposed how thin Western stockpiles had become and how far missiles had to travel from American production lines. Producing and servicing them on European soil shortens resupply and spreads the industrial base across more sites. Reporting drawn from Reuters, Defense News, Jerusalem Post and Army Recognition.