Patriot makers fear Ukraine could improve and produce their missiles more cheaply – The Atlantic

US defence companies Raytheon and Lockheed Martin fear that, if granted a licence, Ukraine could improve Patriot interceptor missiles and produce them faster and at a significantly lower cost than the United States.

Source: The Atlantic

Details: Raytheon and Lockheed publicly justify their concerns about granting Ukraine a licence by citing "their concerns around IP theft and tech transfer".

However, a Republican official on Capitol Hill told The Atlantic that the real reason is fear of competition. US manufacturers are concerned that "the Ukrainians will find a way to improve the Patriot and then produce them at scale faster and for much less money than what the existing production lines in the US could do".

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy raised the issue of licensing the production of Patriot interceptor missiles during his meeting with his US counterpart Donald Trump at the White House on 28 July. Alongside a long-term licensing agreement, Ukraine also requested the immediate delivery of "several hundred" missiles from existing US stocks.

Trump refused to provide the missiles, citing limited US stocks and US priorities in the Middle East. According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), the US has used around two-thirds of its Patriot system stocks over the past six months in the war against Iran.

Two days after meeting the Ukrainian president, Trump called Patriot an "extraordinary weapon" in an interview with the Financial Times and said they "have to be a little bit careful of who we licence to".

The Atlantic emphasised that even if such a decision were approved, it would take years to establish large-scale production. In the long term, Ukraine could potentially manufacture surplus Patriot missiles for the needs of the US or its allies. However, it is the potentially high efficiency of Ukraine's defence industry that is causing concern among US arms manufacturers.

The Atlantic's analysts noted that Ukraine's defence industry capacity has grown significantly and that the country is becoming less dependent on direct aid. Ukraine currently produces around 10 million drones a year, compared with 100,000 in the US.

Background: Zelenskyy said on 8 August that Ukraine has an agreement with the US on monthly deliveries of Patriot missiles, but the quantities are insufficient to meet the country's air defence needs.

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