Patriot manufacturers fear competition from Ukraine

Raytheon and Lockheed have publicly explained their reservations about granting a license to Ukraine due to the risks of intellectual property theft and unauthorized technology transfer, The Atlantic reports.

A Republican official said the real reason is fear of competition. American manufacturers fear that Ukrainians will find a way to improve Patriot missiles and then mass-produce them much more cheaply than existing U.S. production lines.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy raised the issue of licensing interceptor missiles for Patriot air defense systems during a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House on July 28. In addition to a long-term licensing agreement, the Ukrainian side requested the immediate provision of several hundred missiles from its existing inventory.

Trump refused to transfer the missiles, citing limited American stockpiles and US priorities in the Middle East. According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), the US has expended about two-thirds of its Patriot missile stockpile in the war against Iran over the past six months.

Two days after meeting with the Ukrainian president, Trump called the Patriot an exceptional weapon and stated that the US must be careful about who it licenses.

Even if such a decision were made, it would take years to launch large-scale production. In the long term, Ukraine could produce surplus Patriot missiles for the US or its allies, but it is the potential high efficiency of the Ukrainian military-industrial complex that worries American arms manufacturers.

Ukraine's military-industrial potential has grown significantly, and the country is becoming less dependent on direct aid. Currently, Ukraine produces approximately 10 million drones per year, compared to 100,000 in the US.

Photo: Lockheed Martin.