Germany Wants to Negotiate the Production of U.S. Missiles on Its Territory — FT
Germany is actively pressuring Washington in an effort to obtain permission to expand the production of American military equipment directly at German facilities.
Berlin’s goal is to address Europe’s defense capabilities shortfall and to provide compelling arguments for U.S. President Donald Trump to maintain his interest in the continent’s security.
Sources familiar with the situation report that German officials are trying to reach an agreement on joint weapons production before the upcoming NATO summit in Ankara.
This strategic move is an integral part of broader efforts by European nations to leverage their industrial potential to stabilize tense relations with the White House.
Negotiations are currently underway between representatives of both countries regarding so-called “joint production concepts,” which are intended to integrate the German and American industrial bases.
According to one insider, the discussions cover a wide range of weapons that will help strengthen the defense capabilities of both sides.
The priority areas are the joint production of Tomahawk long-range cruise missiles and state-of-the-art PAC-3 interceptors for the Patriot air defense systems.
The United States’ reaction to these proposals—from both government circles and representatives of the defense industry—has been significantly more positive than previously expected.
Berlin emphasizes that localizing the production of critically important weapons in the EU’s largest economy will allow Washington to resolve production capacity issues, which have significantly worsened against the backdrop of the war in Iran.
It will also allow Germany to obtain the necessary weapons much more quickly to carry out its ambitious rearmament plans in the wake of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
At the same time, any decision to transfer classified U.S. technologies outside the United States requires Washington’s direct approval.
The German Ministry of Defense notes that “intensive and well-established” cooperation has already been established between defense companies in both countries.
As a successful example, the ministry cites Rheinmetall’s production of fuselages for F-35 fighter jets and the launch of a new MBDA-Raytheon plant, which manufactures PAC-2 and GEM-T missiles for Patriot systems.
This was reported by the Financial Times.
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