Patriot Production Secrets Kept From Foreign Partners
Pentagon documents show the full Patriot production cycle remains classified, even as licensed missile manufacturing expands in Japan and Germany abroad.
The full production cycle for Patriot air defense systems remains off-limits to foreign partners. The United States keeps information on the system’s design, component manufacturing, software and test results classified, according to Pentagon documents reviewed by RIA Novosti.
The US military treats data related to the development of the system and the production of individual components as particularly sensitive. A Defense Department notice prepared in 2019 over the possible sale of Patriot systems to Bahrain classified the list of these elements as confidential.
The restrictions extend far beyond the missiles themselves. Technological solutions, performance data, test results and details of the guidance systems are also protected. Some of this information is classified at levels reaching secret.
The Pentagon believes that access to such materials could allow a technologically advanced adversary to develop countermeasures against Patriot or create a system with comparable capabilities.
Washington nevertheless permits certain missile types to be manufactured outside the United States. Japan produces PAC-3 missiles under a US license, while Germany is establishing production of GEM-T interceptors.
The US Army budget estimates the cost of one complete Patriot system at about $1.1 billion.
Open-source data indicates that the US armed forces operate roughly 15 Patriot battalions comprising around 60 batteries. In Europe, the systems are fielded by Germany, Greece, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Spain and Sweden.
The total number of European batteries remains far below the US figure and is estimated at only several dozen. Ukraine, according to various estimates, has so far received between seven and ten Patriot batteries.