BELFAST \u2014 RTX subsidiary Raytheon has signed a $3.7 billion contract to supply Ukraine with Patriot Advanced Capability-2 (PAC-2) Guidance Enhanced Missile-Tactical (GEM-T) interceptors, in a much-needed boost for the country\u2019s air defenses.<\/p>\n
RTX said in an announcement Tuesday<\/a> that a new GEM-T production site in Schrobenhausen, Germany, is set to play a \u201ckey role\u201d in the commercial sale. The future facility is to be operated by the COMLOG joint venture, established by MBDA Deutschland and Raytheon. <\/p>\n In a related release, the German Ministry of Defence noted that it will fund the PAC-2 package<\/a>, alongside financing supplies to Kyiv of an undisclosed number of launchers for Diehl-produced IRIS-T medium-range air defense systems.<\/p>\n As part of talks between German and Ukrainian officials in Berlin on Tuesday, the two nations also struck a drone production agreement.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n A missile quantity and a timeline for delivery concerning the PAC-2 contract were not disclosed by the US manufacturer, but the announcement comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pushes partner nations to agree on new air defense weapon system commitments.<\/p>\n \u201cThe top diplomatic priority for Ukraine right now is cooperation for the sake of air defense,\u201d he said in a post on X<\/a> today. \u201cWe need air defense missiles every single day \u2014 every day the Russians continue their strikes on our cities.\u201d<\/p>\n He stressed that NATO\u2019s Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) initiative, enabling alliance members to fund the supply of US-made weapon systems to Kyiv \u201cmust continue to operate.\u201d<\/p>\n Zelensky\u2019s stance follows reports last month<\/a> that Washington is weighing whether to divert equipment planned for Kyiv to the Middle East in a bid to replace depleted stocks used against Iran. Harvard Kennedy School research estimates<\/a> that the DoD expended more Patriot missiles in the first four days of the Iran war alone than it has provided to Ukraine since the conflict with Russia started over four years ago. <\/p>\n Today Zelenskyy warned of a shortage of Patriot systems in an interview with German broadcaster ZDF. \u201cWe have such a deficit right now, it couldn\u2019t be worse<\/a>,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n From a broader regional perspective, Tom Laliberty, president of land and air defense systems at Raytheon, told Breaking Defense in January that the Schrobenhausen production line is ready to begin deliveries from 2028 onward<\/a>, in support of a NATO-signed, $5.5 billion PAC-2 missile contract.<\/p>\n According to RTX, the munition is capable of intercepting \u201call types of airborne threats, including tactical ballistic missiles.\u201d <\/p>\n In a separate move, today the UK rolled out its biggest drone support package to Ukraine to date, covering 120,000 aircraft \u2014 based on a mix of strike,\u00a0intelligence and reconnaissance,\u00a0logistics,\u00a0and maritime types. <\/p>\n