Producing Patriot missiles in Ukraine could take years: what is needed and how to protect the factories
Ihor Fedirko, Executive Director of the Ukrainian Arms Manufacturers’ Council, spoke about this in an interview with RBC-Ukraine.
He emphasised that future production sites would immediately become one of the main targets of Russian missile attacks. At the same time, the Ukrainian defence industry already has experience of operating under constant shelling.
According to him, the main task is not to avoid risks, but to manage them effectively. Fedirko listed the necessary safety measures:
1) production should not be concentrated in a single large factory;
2) instead, the entire production cycle must be distributed across several facilities;
3) critical production operations must be duplicated;
4) components must be stored in secure vaults so that operations can be quickly resumed in the event of an attack.
Fedirko noted that, in the initial phase, the most technologically complex components would likely be sourced from the US or European countries. Ukrainian enterprises could handle integration, final assembly and testing of the missiles, and subsequently gradually increase the share of local production.
At the same time, according to the expert, the American side will pay particular attention to security issues. Key requirements will include the protection of production sites and documentation, as well as strict control over access to technology, to prevent the leakage of critical information.
The need for domestic production of the Patriot system has become particularly pressing due to an acute shortage of interceptor missiles. Following the latest Russian ballistic missile strikes on Kyiv, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence appealed to 40 partner countries, requesting that they urgently provide additional ammunition for these systems.
In July, US President Donald Trump, during a meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Ankara, stated that Washington would allow Ukraine to manufacture Patriot systems, noting that the US would “show Kyiv how to make these systems”. He expressed confidence that Ukraine would be able to master production quickly, even though the technology involved is extremely complex.
Poland could play an important role in the future localisation of production. Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz stated that, at the NATO summit in Ankara, Poland, together with Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands, had been granted the status of countries through which technology for the production and maintenance of Patriot missiles may be transferred. According to him, Warsaw is ready to begin cooperation with Ukraine immediately.
Estimates of when production will begin currently vary considerably. The Polish side suggests that certain work could start in just a few weeks.
At the same time, Ukrainian aviation experts are talking about years, not weeks.
Experts also emphasise that the current discussion does not concern the full production cycle of the entire Patriot system. Most likely, localisation will take place in stages – from repair and maintenance to the assembly of missiles from components supplied by Western partners.
An expert explained that Patriot missiles are not manufactured by a single entity on its own; this is an example of large-scale international cooperation.
The most advanced PAC-3 missiles, designed to intercept ballistic targets using direct kinetic impact, are manufactured by the American company Lockheed Martin at its facility in Arkansas.
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