RTX touts its Europe ties as nations look warily across the pond

PARIS — Raytheon touted the company’s local presence in Europe during a briefing at the Paris Air Show, as the company eyes the impact of a European rush for greater sovereignty in defense matters.

Raytheon extended a partnership with Norway’s Kongsberg to produce the NASAMS air-defense system for another ten years, and is seeking more supply chain partners to add to cooperation agreements in Europe, Tom Laliberty, Raytheon president for land and air defense systems, told reporters here.

The European Union is pushing for member states to spend more on arms procurement within the 27-nation bloc to bolster local defense manufacturers. EU plans such as ReArm Europe seek to reduce reliance on external suppliers including the United States, creating an incentive for the likes of RTX, Raytheon’s parent company, to polish their European credentials.

“Longer term, I think there’s a very appropriate focus on building capacity here in Europe,” Laliberty said. “We’re going to continue to participate in those partnerships, pursue new partnerships, and look to ensure that we’re part of the European strategy going forward.”

Laliberty said RTX, which also includes Collins Aerospace and engine maker Pratt & Whitney, has some 24,000 employees in Europe.

European efforts to strengthen the local defense industry comes amid concerns about Russia’s aggression following its 2022 invasion of Ukraine, as well as worries about American disengagement from the continent. U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to walk away from NATO security guarantees if European allies don’t step up defense spending.

Laliberty said partnerships are “very much the way we see Raytheon’s approach” in Europe. He said various countries take different approaches to sovereignty, and “we try to be open and help them meet those requirements.”

“Maybe some of those relationships change, where we’re supplying to some of our European partners or increase their work share on some of our programs, but I certainly believe that we have a very bright future here in Europe.”

Raytheon also signed a memorandum of understanding this week with Germany’s Diehl Defence to co-produce the Stinger short-range anti-air missile in Europe. The company aims to increase production of the weapon by 50% by the end of 2026, in response to “significant demand” related to the Stinger’s performance in Ukraine, Laliberty said.

The U.S. company announced plans to co-develop parts of the future GhostEye radar for the NASAMS system with Kongsberg, with Laliberty saying manufacturing will lean on Norwegian and European suppliers to support production.

A joint venture with pan-European missile maker MBDA in Germany to manufacture the GEM-T interceptor for the Patriot air-defense system “will use as much of a European supply chain as possible,” according to Laliberty. He said Raytheon has several partnerships for Patriot across Europe, including building of the entire launcher in Poland.

Raytheon is working with various NATO countries and the NATO Support and Procurement Agency on future contracts to take advantage of the new GEM-T capacity being added in Germany, the executive said.

“So we continue to work across Europe to find additional supply chains, to find additional partners, to really unlock the capacity here and increase our ability to deliver more product to the war fighter,” Laliberty said. “That transatlantic industrial base is required to meet the needs of all of NATO. So I’m very encouraged that we’ll be here for the long haul.”

Rudy Ruitenberg is a Europe correspondent for Defense News. He started his career at Bloomberg News and has experience reporting on technology, commodity markets and politics.

巴黎——雷神公司在巴黎航展的简报会上大力宣传其在欧洲的本地业务，该公司正密切关注欧洲在国防事务中寻求更大自主权所带来的影响。

雷神公司陆空防御系统总裁汤姆·拉利伯蒂在此间告诉记者，雷神公司已与挪威康斯伯格公司续签了生产NASAMS防空系统的合作协议，期限为十年，并且正在寻求更多供应链合作伙伴，以扩大在欧洲的合作协议。

欧盟正敦促成员国在欧盟内部增加武器采购支出，以扶持本土国防制造商。欧盟的“重塑欧洲”（ReArm Europe）等计划旨在减少对包括美国在内的外部供应商的依赖，从而激励像雷神公司母公司RTX这样的企业提升其在欧洲的竞争力。

拉利伯蒂表示：“从长远来看，我认为现在非常应该重视在欧洲加强能力建设。我们将继续参与这些合作项目，寻求新的合作机会，并努力确保我们能够成为未来欧洲战略的一部分。”

拉利伯蒂表示，RTX集团（旗下还包括柯林斯航空航天公司和发动机制造商普惠公司）在欧洲拥有约24000名员工。

在对俄罗斯2022年入侵乌克兰后的侵略行为以及美国可能从欧洲大陆撤军的担忧日益加剧之际，欧洲正努力加强本国国防工业。美国总统唐纳德·特朗普曾多次威胁，如果欧洲盟国不增加国防开支，美国将退出北约安全保障。

拉利伯蒂表示，伙伴关系“正是我们认为雷神公司在欧洲采取的方式”。他指出，不同国家对主权问题采取不同的态度，“我们努力保持开放的态度，帮助他们满足这些要求”。

“或许有些合作关系会发生变化，比如我们向一些欧洲合作伙伴提供产品，或者增加他们在某些项目中的工作份额，但我坚信我们在欧洲拥有非常光明的未来。”

雷神公司本周还与德国迪尔防务公司签署了一份谅解备忘录，将在欧洲联合生产“毒刺”短程防空导弹。拉利伯蒂表示，该公司计划到2026年底将该武器的产量提高50%，以应对“毒刺”导弹在乌克兰战场上表现出的“显著需求”。

美国公司宣布计划与 Kongsberg 公司共同开发 NASAMS 系统未来 GhostEye 雷达的部分组件，Laliberty 表示，制造将依靠挪威和欧洲供应商的支持。

据拉利伯蒂称，雷神公司与泛欧导弹制造商MBDA在德国成立的合资企业将生产用于“爱国者”防空系统的GEM-T拦截弹，“尽可能多地利用欧洲供应链”。他还表示，雷神公司在欧洲各地拥有多个“爱国者”防空系统的合作伙伴，包括在波兰建造整个发射装置。

该高管表示，雷神公司正在与多个北约国家和北约支持与采购局合作，制定未来的合同，以利用德国新增的 GEM-T 产能。

“因此，我们将继续在欧洲各地寻找更多供应链和合作伙伴，真正释放这里的产能，提高我们向作战人员提供更多产品的能力，”拉利伯蒂说。“跨大西洋的工业基础对于满足北约所有成员国的需求至关重要。所以我非常有信心，我们将长期扎根于此。”

鲁迪·鲁伊滕贝格是《防务新闻》的欧洲记者。他的职业生涯始于彭博新闻社，拥有报道科技、大宗商品市场和政治方面的经验。