The US has granted Ukraine a license to produce Patriot interceptors, a move that could take years to implement. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the deal after meeting with US President Donald Trump at the NATO summit in Turkey. The license will allow Ukraine to build its own air defense system, reducing its reliance on Western arms.
The production of Patriots is a complex process, with each interceptor taking 24 months to build and requiring a solid rocket motor that takes 30 months to produce. The US has only granted a handful of countries the right to produce Patriots, citing concerns about the technology falling into enemy hands.
Ukraine is also developing its own domestic defense system, called FREYA, which will be a cheaper and mass-produced alternative to the Patriot. Zelenskyy has made the development of domestic defense systems a top priority, aiming to reduce Ukraine's reliance on foreign aid and protect its cities from Russian ballistic missiles.
