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Ukraine to Jointly Produce Patriot Interceptors With Raytheon, Zelenskyy Announces
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Ukraine is moving toward manufacturing critical air defense equipment domestically in a new venture with American defense contractor Raytheon.
Following a meeting with a company delegation led by Vice President Joseph DeAntona, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on July 23 that Ukraine will partner with Raytheon to produce interceptor missiles for Patriot defense systems.
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The agreement aims to strengthen the nation's air defense capabilities as Ukrainian cities continue to face heavy aerial attacks during Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Zelenskyy noted that the initiative builds on earlier discussions held with US President Donald Trump in Ankara. In addition to missile manufacturing, the talks covered other areas of defense collaboration, focusing on non-offensive military hardware.
"Raytheon is a very strong defense company, and Ukraine has long used its equipment to protect our people from brutal Russian attacks. I am grateful for the company's readiness to bring our partnership to an even higher level, where Ukraine will jointly produce one of the most important air defense assets—interceptors for Patriots—together with Raytheon," Zelenskyy stated.
"Our teams—at the government level and from the private sector—will remain in contact to finalize everything," he added.
Previously, Lockheed Martin has unveiled a new, lower-cost Patriot interceptor designed to enter production faster and preserve scarce PAC-3 MSE missiles for the most dangerous ballistic threats.
The PAC-3 Adapted Capability Effector, or ACE, is expected to cost less than half as much as the PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement interceptor. Recent US Army budget documents put the price of a PAC-3 MSE at more than $4 million per round, potentially bringing the ACE below $2 million.
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