Germany wants to manufacture American PAC-3 interceptors to help meet global demand

COLOGNE, Germany — German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has lobbied U.S. defense leaders to allow the production of PAC-3 MSE interceptor missiles in Germany, arguing an additional production site would help alleviate a glaring shortfall in the global supply chain for the vital air-defense weapons.

Pistorius’ comments in Berlin on Wednesday offer more details about an agreement struck with his U.S. counterpart , Pete Hegseth, at the Pentagon last week.

The German defense minister said the spirit of that accord reflects Berlin’s willingness to manufacture all elements of the Patriot value chain — PAC-2 and PAC-3 interceptors, launchers and all — in Germany, plus whatever other American weaponry is in short supply among allies.

Germany’s MBDA already makes PAC-2 interceptors, a Raytheon product. The more advanced, and more expensive, PAC-3 MSE interceptors, on the other hand, are made by Lockheed Martin, which has a longstanding cooperation agreement in Germany with Rheinmetall, including in the missile sector.

Whether PAC-3 production in Germany or elsewhere in Europe will come to pass is largely a matter of the U.S. government and Lockheed Martin playing along. Details would likely also depend on the scope of work happening abroad.

The performance characteristics of Patriot interceptors are a closely guarded secret, as that information could allow adversaries to build countermeasures into their attack missiles. There is also a business decision wrapped up in the export of Patriot production, as the equipment has been a decades-old cash cow for the manufacturers and the U.S. government alike.

Ukrainian leaders said in July they were promised by U.S. President Donald Trump that they would be able to make Patriot interceptors under license in Ukraine, though the details of that arrangement remain unclear .

Patriot interceptors are a key defense against Russian missiles that have been battering Ukrainian cities.

Sebastian Sprenger is associate editor for Europe at Defense News, reporting on the state of the defense market in the region, and on U.S.-Europe cooperation and multi-national investments in defense and global security. Previously he served as managing editor for Defense News. He is based in Cologne, Germany.

德国科隆——德国国防部长鲍里斯·皮斯托里乌斯游说美国国防领导人允许在德国生产PAC-3 MSE拦截导弹，他认为，增加一个生产基地将有助于缓解全球防空武器供应链中存在的明显缺口。

皮斯托瑞斯周三在柏林发表的言论提供了更多关于上周在五角大楼与美国国防部长皮特·赫格塞斯达成的协议的细节。

德国国防部长表示，该协议的精神体现了柏林愿意在德国生产爱国者导弹价值链的所有组成部分——PAC-2 和 PAC-3 拦截器、发射器以及所有相关部件——此外，德国还愿意生产盟国短缺的任何其他美国武器。

德国MBDA公司已经生产PAC-2拦截弹，该产品由雷神公司生产。而更先进、价格也更高的PAC-3 MSE拦截弹则由洛克希德·马丁公司生产，该公司与德国莱茵金属公司有着长期的合作关系，合作领域包括导弹领域。

PAC-3导弹能否在德国或其他欧洲国家生产，很大程度上取决于美国政府和洛克希德·马丁公司的配合。具体细节可能还取决于海外项目的具体规模。

“爱国者”拦截导弹的性能特征属于高度机密，因为这些信息可能使对手在其攻击导弹中植入反制措施。此外，“爱国者”导弹的出口也涉及商业决策，因为几十年来，这套装备一直是制造商和美国政府的摇钱树。

乌克兰领导人在7月份表示，美国总统唐纳德·特朗普承诺，乌克兰将能够获得许可生产爱国者导弹拦截器，但该安排的细节仍不清楚。

爱国者导弹拦截器是抵御俄罗斯导弹袭击乌克兰城市的关键防御手段。

塞巴斯蒂安·斯普伦格是《防务新闻》欧洲版副主编，负责报道该地区的防务市场状况，以及美欧在防务和全球安全领域的合作和多国投资。此前，他曾担任《防务新闻》执行主编。他现居德国科隆。