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US Representative Michael McCaul said American defense contractors, including Lockheed Martin, are interested in allowing Ukraine to produce interceptor missiles for Patriot systems.
The congressman made the statement in an interview with Bloomberg, UATV English reports.
The American lawmaker’s statement came after President Donald Trump promised that the US would grant a license for this weapons system.
“I think it’s in their interest for a lot of reasons. If the president wants it done, it’s in their interest to do it,” McCaul said.
McCaul gave the interview while in Ukraine, where, according to him, Ukrainian military officials briefed him on domestic drone technologies and the armed forces’ successes in retaking territories occupied by Russia.
“I think the Ukrainians can build this system faster, and maybe even better. So Lockheed could learn from the Ukrainians about their own interceptors — how to improve them, how to produce them faster,” he added.
As a reminder, during the public portion of the meeting between Presidents Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the NATO summit on July 8, the American leader stated that the US would grant Ukraine the right to manufacture Patriots.
Zelenskyy also said that following the political agreement with Trump on a license to produce Patriots, “technical” work to implement it should begin quickly.
According to media reports, production of American interceptor missiles for Patriot air defense systems for Ukraine will most likely be organized in some European country, with Germany being considered as an option.
Read also: Zelenskyy–Trump Meeting Signals Shift in U.S. Approach to War, Ukrainian NATO PA Delegate Says
