In an effort to replenish Ukraine’s depleted stockpiles, the United States has recently awarded a contract to Raytheon to move forward with the production of more Patriot GEM-T missiles, which will require a major investment of around 3.7 billion dollars. According to the company’s statement posted through official channels, support will come from the new production plant established in the German town of Schrobenhausen and operated together with MBDA Deutschland through the joint venture COMLOG, which will make it possible to accelerate deliveries to Kyiv.
Referring to this, Raytheon President Phil Jasper stated: “Raytheon is focused on maximizing production capacity, ensuring a steady and reliable supply of these combat-proven interceptors for the United States and allies such as Ukraine, who rely on the Patriot system to protect their citizens, infrastructure, and sovereignty. Raytheon is investing heavily to increase GEM-T production in order to meet growing global demand, driven by significant internal and partner investments, alternate supplier initiatives, and the expansion of our global supply chain.”
It is worth recalling at this point, based on what Jasper himself mentioned, that the GEM-T missiles are also known as the PAC-2 variant, which, while not the most modern version available, remains an effective asset for neutralizing a broad range of aerial threats and one with which Ukrainian troops are already familiar through its use in combat.
On the other hand, it is important to highlight that this new contract represents a necessary additional boost to what had been scarce deliveries of Patriot missiles by Ukraine’s European allies, with the cases of Germany and Spain serving as illustrative examples. As we reported during the previous month, Madrid managed to assemble only a package of five PAC-2 missiles to equip Ukrainian batteries, all of which came from the anti-aircraft artillery units of the Spanish Army. At the time, it was emphasized that this was mainly due to the limitations imposed by the current high demand for these systems, which creates bottlenecks when it comes to deliveries and, therefore, in the ability to replenish national inventories before making further donations.
A similar situation occurred in the German case, when in February it became known that only five PAC-3 missiles would be sent as part of the new military assistance package to Ukraine, even making it a condition that other European partners contribute additional units to reach a total of 30 missiles to be sent jointly. As mentioned earlier, the German Ministry of Defense attributed this to already exhausted stockpiles and the difficulties that have existed in replenishing them through purchases from the United States. This is not a minor issue, considering that Berlin had contributed nearly a third of its arsenal prior to the start of the war.
Images used for illustrative purposes
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