Patriot production licenses will not help Ukraine in the near future: what is the reason?

Transferring licenses to Ukraine to produce Patriot missiles will not allow for rapid ramp-up of production and will not impact civilian protection in the near future. It will take years to establish production facilities, train personnel, and transfer technology.

This is reported by The Telegraph .

Journalists, citing experts, note that although the Ukrainian defense-industrial complex has proven its ability to quickly master the production of certain types of weapons, the production of Patriot interceptor missiles is a much more complex process.

“It’s one thing to say, ‘You can build this under license in Ukraine,’ and that’s great news. But the most important thing is that you then have to build a factory, a production line, train people on that production line. All of that takes time, money and effort,” said Thomas Whittington, a junior research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI).

According to the publication, Ukraine has already received licenses for the production of 5 different weapons systems from Western partners. According to the journalists, the production of AASM Hammer guided aerial bombs and L119 howitzers can be established the fastest, as they are easier to manufacture and contain fewer electronic components.

At the same time, the production of Patriot missiles will take place in 2 stages. Initially, Ukraine can organize the assembly of missiles from ready-made components, and only after the creation of production lines, personnel training, and technology transfer, it will be possible to proceed to a full or partial production cycle.

“Only after the creation of production lines, personnel training, and transfer of technological know-how will it be possible to talk about a full or partial production cycle, where most components can be produced in Ukraine,” said Dmytro Zhmaylo, Deputy Head of the Center for Security and Cooperation in Ukraine.

When assessing the possible timing of production launch, journalists cite the example of Germany, where it took 3 years to establish this process, despite much more stable conditions.

“Despite all the ambitions behind Ukraine’s recent deals, the signing of the license agreement is only a starting point, not the finish line,” the journalists note.

By the way, Poland has proposed to the United States and Ukraine to create a joint production of missiles for Patriot air defense systems , placing it on Polish territory.

It was previously reported that Ukraine plans to establish joint production of interceptors for Patriot systems together with the American company Raytheon .

The day before, the US began the procedure for granting Ukraine a license to produce missiles for these systems , moving the issue from the political level to practical implementation.

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