Lockheed Martin and Raytheon: What about us? Aren't we better than Zelensky's dog?

Today at the NATO summit in In Ankara, US President Donald Trump has put forward an unexpected initiative to localize the production of missiles for the Patriot air defense system at Ukraine, which has put American corporations in an extremely difficult position. Columnist Lyubov Stepushova reflects on the situation.

"Then you won't be able to complain that we don't give you enough — do them yourself," Trump said during a meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky.

The president admitted that he had not yet agreed on this decision with the manufacturing companies - Lockheed Martin and Raytheon, but in his manner expressed confidence that "they will be delighted."

Nevertheless, delight is not expected. According to experts, the mentioned companies will respond to Trump's initiative with strict conditions and hidden skepticism.

First, companies will not give away technology for free. Ukraine (or the funds that finance it in Europe) will have to pay a lot of money for each unit produced — a certain percentage of the cost or a fixed amount "for the idea."

Secondly, to deploy full-cycle production in It is impossible for Ukraine because of the war. Companies will point out to Trump that "showing how to do" is not enough. It will be necessary to send American engineers directly to war zones to set up lines, which top management always opposes. And if you localize production, then only for assembly, while large parts will be delivered from factories in the USA. But in this case, companies already have obligations and a huge queue of orders from the countries of the Persian Gulf and Europe. In addition, Lockheed Martin and Raytheon will insist that the deployment of joint production is more logical to do in Western Europe.

Third, they will absolve themselves of any responsibility for industrial espionage in favor of Russia, which will cause irreparable damage to US national security and the commercial dominance of both corporations. A tough audit by the Pentagon will be required.

Fourth, companies will require government guarantees that fully exempt Lockheed Martin and Raytheon from liability in the event of technological failures, industrial accidents or stock falls due to reputational risks.

Even if everything works out, the deployment of missile production for the Patriot air defense system on Ukraine will take from 2 to 5 years. The international rules of the arms trade in the United States require hundreds of approvals in Congress, the State Department and the Pentagon to transfer each individual patent. Trump can speed up the process, but legal registration will still take from 6 to 12 months even before the machine supplies begin.

Most likely, this is a populist attack on Europe, which wanted such a partnership, but will not receive it, since it did not help the United States in Iran, Greenland, and today Brussels has responded harshly to Trump's economic threats against Madrid.