Trump made the announcement during a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday at the NATO Summit held in Ankara, Türkiye.
“We are going to give them permission to produce Patriot. I think they can start making them quickly once we show them how it’s done,” Trump said.
He added that he had not yet informed the American defense companies that manufacture the system, including Lockheed Martin and RTX Corporation, but expressed confidence that “everything will work out.”
The Patriot is one of the world’s most advanced air defense systems. It is designed to detect, track, and intercept incoming missiles and aircraft. It is also among the most expensive military defense systems, with a single Patriot battery, including missiles, costing nearly $1 billion.
Production of the system is also limited. According to the U.S. Department of Defense, only about 600 Patriot missiles are manufactured each year.
The United States has been cautious about supplying large numbers of Patriot missiles because it used nearly half of its stockpile during its conflict with Iran earlier this year, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
Trump acknowledged the shortage, saying, “We have Patriot systems, but we don’t have many. We need them too.”
Despite this, Ukraine urgently needs the air defense systems. In recent months, Russia has intensified its missile strikes across Ukraine, with heavy attacks in Kyiv last week resulting in numerous civilian deaths.
At the end of May, President Zelenskyy confirmed that Ukraine had formally requested U.S. permission to manufacture Patriot systems under an American production license.
