The U.S. moved Ukraine to the front of the line for its sales of air defense interceptors — one of the most critical weapons in Ukraine’s self-defense.
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby announced the reshuffle in a briefing today, calling it “difficult but necessary.” In the short-term, he said, Patriot and NASAM interceptors that had been slated for other countries will now go to Ukraine.
“As a result, deliveries for these missiles to other countries that are currently in the queue will have to be delayed,” Kirby said.
The White House expects Ukraine will receive these air defense weapons by the end of the summer. Kirby said the number will be in the hundreds, and that the decision should give Ukraine what it needs for the next 16 months. At that point, the countries who currently have air defense missiles on order can expect to start seeing theirs delivered.
“To be clear, those countries will still receive the missiles they have ordered,” Kirby said. “It’s just that the delivery will take a little longer.”
He did not say which countries would be affected by the delays, but noted that the decision will not impact Taiwan or Israel.
Lockheed Martin is fully funded by the U.S. Army to build 550 PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement (MSE) missiles a year at its Camden, Arkansas, production line and hit a rate of 500 per year in December 2023. While the Army has yet to fund another missile production increase, Lockheed has invested internally to build 650 interceptors a year. In 2023, Lockheed signed six letters of approval with international customers.
There are 19 countries with the Raytheon-made Patriot and that customer base is growing. Switzerland purchased five batteries and 75 missiles in November 2022 and Romania plans to buy additional fire units. At least two other European countries are close to announcing plans to buy Patriot, according to Raytheon this spring.
Slovakia has recently expressed interest in purchasing Patriot, and Germany has said it intends to grow its Patriot force.
The decision is one of the most extraordinary measures America has taken to protect Ukraine since the full-scale war with Russia began two years ago. For months, Pentagon leaders have said that air defense is at the top of the agenda for the countries supporting Kyiv. And they’ve taken recent steps to prove it.
“Air defense has been at the top of my agenda for a long time,” said U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin at a June press conference.
