Ukraine Unlikely to Produce Patriot Missiles Under US License Before 2029

The newspaper Junge Welt reported that although the United States has approved granting Ukraine a license to produce Patriot missiles, this development does not significantly enhance Ukraine's current air defense capabilities. At this stage of the conflict, the US president's promise to provide such a license will not assist Ukraine in defending against Russian ballistic missile attacks.

The article added that even if Ukraine rapidly establishes the necessary industrial capacity, manufacturing a Patriot missile requires two years, while producing its engine takes two and a half years. Consequently, it is unlikely that Ukraine will be able to use domestically produced Patriot systems before 2029, despite the immediate need for them.

Junge Welt also noted that many countries are presently experiencing shortages of interceptor missiles.

The report explained that the discussion about granting production licenses arises because the US missile industry faces complex challenges. The United States will likely need around three years to rebuild its Patriot missile stockpile, which has probably been reduced by half during the war with Ukraine. Simultaneously, other countries also require these interceptor missiles, having depleted part of their inventories during conflicts in the Middle East or having supplied them to Ukraine, necessitating replenishment of their own stockpiles.

Former US President Donald Trump stated on Wednesday that he does not rule out granting Ukraine a license to produce interceptor missiles for the Patriot systems. He indicated that Kyiv would be able to begin manufacturing quickly once it receives the necessary technical guidance. To date, such missiles under this system are produced only in Japan and Germany.

Moscow has repeatedly warned Western countries that supplying weapons to Ukraine will not change the course of military operations but will only prolong the conflict. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov affirmed that any shipments of this kind would be considered legitimate targets by Russian forces.