Trump will ask American companies to manufacture missiles in Europe for Ukraine
Bloomberg reports this, citing sources familiar with the progress of the talks.
According to the agency, the issue was discussed during the G7 summit in Evian, France.
The reason for this was a shortage of modern air defence and anti-missile systems. This primarily concerns interceptor missiles capable of destroying Russian ballistic missiles
The problem is that such munitions are currently produced only in the US, and American stocks have recently been significantly reduced due to military operations and the fulfilment of allied commitments. At the same time, it is not possible to ramp up production within the United States quickly.
That is why the allies have proposed an alternative approach – to allow the manufacture of American weapons under licence at European facilities.
Responding to questions from journalists, Donald Trump confirmed that this possibility is being considered.
“They would like to have that option. We will look into it,” said the US President.
According to sources speaking to Bloomberg, the talks are focusing not only on the transfer of licences to European manufacturers, but also on the possibility of involving Ukrainian companies.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz confirmed that the discussions centred specifically on large-scale licensing agreements between US defence companies and manufacturers in Europe.
“We are all facing the problem of insufficient production rates. This can be offset by granting licences to companies that already have the necessary production capacity. These include both European and Ukrainian firms,” Merz noted.
French President Emmanuel Macron also reported that Donald Trump had emphasised the need to maximise the potential of the US defence industry and to provide allies with the necessary armaments.
Although the US already has some examples of licensed production of its own weapons abroad – in particular, certain components of Patriot missiles are manufactured in Germany – Washington is generally very cautious about transferring defence technologies due to intellectual property protection and control over supply chains.
Why this is important for Ukraine
Firstly, the production of American missiles in Europe will significantly reduce delivery times, as some orders can be fulfilled closer to the theatre of operations.
Secondly, if Ukrainian companies are indeed involved in the programme, this will mean not only new production capacity but also deeper integration of Ukraine’s defence-industrial complex with the Western defence industry.
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