US Patriot missile maker counts on Europe to increase missile production

American military giant Raytheon will continue to invest in European production of air defence systems, including for its in-demand Patriot system, a senior executive told Euractiv.

Part of this interview first featured in Firepower, Euractiv’s weekly defence newsletter.

The company has already seen a surge in orders over recent years to both boost the bloc's own defence systems and backfill platforms sent to Ukraine. That's prompting Raytheon to mull even deeper cooperation with EU-based armaments producers and even those in Ukraine, Tom Laliberty, the head of land and air-defence systems, said.

There might be chatter in Europe about shifting away from American defence suppliers, but Patriot systems have never been more in demand, with decade-long waiting lists for deliveries. The likes of Germany and Switzerland have recently signed up for big orders.

“We're working with our supply chains to increase production capacity,” Laliberty said, adding that new European factories are key to answering the high demand for Patriots and other Raytheon weaponry.

Investment in German production facilities with partner MDBA Deutschland, made in response to orders from European NATO allies for up to 1,000 more Patriot missiles, means that Raytheon will be able to double global production of the interceptor missiles by 2028 or 2030, he said.

“We’re also incrementally increasing our capacity in the United States, but the real step function is the German capacity,” Laliberty said.

He said Raytheon is now looking to further expand on the continent.

The US manufacturer not only produces the missiles, but also already operates maintenance facilities for Patriot systems. Raytheon also co-produces certain pieces of equipment, such as the NASAMS air-defence missiles with Norwegian defence contractor Kongsberg.

Even for Raytheon, the world's second-largest arms manufacturer, ensuring ready supplies of essential components in order to increase missile production is not an easy feat. Laliberty told Euractiv that key challenges at the moment include accessing parts for solid rocket motors for the GEM-T Patriot variant, and for warheads.

“We're working with our supply chains to increase [air and missile defence] production capacity because that essentially fuels our ability to increase capacity,” Laliberty said. He mentioned Germany and Spain as key countries, as they host supply chain factories he said were crucial in European production.

More Raytheon in Europe

With many European governments now focused on rebuilding their own defence industrial capacity and buying domestically-produced weapons, Laliberty said Raytheon is open to evolving business relationships with EU-based contractors.

Joint ventures and other deals with European firms are possible, he said, and so is a possible inversion of business relationships "where in the past maybe Raytheon was a prime contractor and some of our European partners were subcontractors".

Raytheon also sees new business opportunities in Ukraine, where officials are looking for more deliveries and seeking to set up joint ventures with US companies. "The primary discussion with the Ukrainian customer is how to best get them systems as soon as possible," Laliberty said.

"We continue to talk with their industry about the appropriate things they can do to participate  in the production and sustainment of the systems (...) they have and hopefully the new systems that they get," he said.

Raytheon relaunched production of shoulder-launched Stinger missiles, which had ended, in response to high demand due to the war in Ukraine. Laliberty said production will "most likely" continue even after Raytheon introduces the Next-Generation Short-Range Interceptor (NGSRI), intended to replace the Stinger.

(bts)