Germany presses U.S. to allow Patriot missile production in Europe — Pistorius

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has urged the United States to permit the manufacturing of Patriot air defense missiles within Europe. This demand was made during a meeting with his U.S. counterpart, Pete Hegseth, in Washington last week. Pistorius expressed his support for producing PAC-3 interceptors outside the United States, stating that Germany is willing to assist in meeting the high demand for these and other U.S. systems by establishing production lines on European soil.

A memorandum of understanding was signed between Pistorius and Hegseth, covering the joint production of U.S. weapons systems in Europe. However, more negotiations are required to address intellectual property concerns and the final agreements between the Pentagon, the White House, and the manufacturing company. Germany is also pushing for the production of long-range Tomahawk missiles under license, which would enable the German military to strike targets in Russia from German territory.

While an agreement has been reached with Washington to purchase these missiles, there is a lengthy waitlist for their delivery. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy recently expressed optimism to U.S. President Donald Trump about the possibility of granting Ukraine licenses to produce Patriot missile systems, potentially within a year or a year and a half.