Germany is interested in producing American systems

According to the Financial Times, discussions include co-producing Tomahawk cruise missiles and advanced Patriot PAC-3 missiles. US officials are reportedly keen on the idea of such cooperation. Berlin claims that its industrial base could help relieve US production bottlenecks and deliver weapons to Europe faster.

Industrial cooperation is already in motion as German Rheinmetall builds F-35 fuselage sections and partakes in joint Patriot missile production. The deepening of the collaboration would require a transfer of sensitive military technology, which needs to be approved by the US beforehand.

German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius confirmed the reports. “We know that American production capacities are limited and urgently need to be expanded. That is why we are very interested in producing certain systems, or parts of systems, here in Germany.” He then brought up the existing example of building the F-35 fuselage. The minister added that the overall goal is to achieve greater independence without giving up close cooperation with the Americans.

A successful deal would give Donald Trump an economic incentive to stay committed to NATO, something that Europe would not mind, judging by the uncertainty coming from Washington’s foreign policy. More and more observers claim that Europe should be more militarily self-sufficient. While that is true, Pistorius insists that “nobody has ever said that we want to give up American systems. That is not the case, and it will not be the case in the future. We work very closely with the American defence industry, and we want to continue doing so. There are systems that we simply do not yet have, or do not possess in sufficient capability, that we urgently need over the next five to ten years.”