The American defense industry does not have time to produce missiles for the Patriot system
This week, the Japanese government agreed to change its arms export legislation. This will allow Japan to supply the United States with anti-aircraft missiles. The bill does not specify a specific type of missile. At the same time, it is known that the Pentagon wants to receive ammunition for the Patriot system from Japan.
Japan produces the missiles for the latest modification of the PAC-3 complex independently. RTX has granted a license for the production of ammunition. The supply of missiles from Japan will allow the United States to take a more flexible approach to arms transfers to Ukraine.
The exact number of contracted missiles is not specified. According to WP, the cost of one PAC-3 CRE missile is 4 million USD. Against the backdrop of the order placed by Washington, a reasonable question arises: is it true that the United States produces so few anti-aircraft missiles that it has to buy them from its allies?
Last spring, the Pentagon signed a contract with RTX to supply missiles. It amounted to USD 2.5 billion. According to the agreement, the manufacturer is obliged to supply the US Army with 625 missiles for the Patriot air defense system by the end of 2029. Thus, every year it will receive 89 missiles.
In the summer, IISS analysts released a report that the US defense industry is capable of producing 450 anti-aircraft missiles annually. The US Army is booking 250 missiles out of this volume. RTX claims that the production of ammunition for the Patriot can be increased by a maximum of 15-20%. Thus, the United States is really unable to meet Ukraine’s missile needs in the face of an increase in the number of Patriot systems in service with the Armed Forces.
