White House announces NATO defense deals, including Patriot, Stinger missiles
US Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker joins ‘Varney & Co.’ to discuss President Donald Trump’s victory at the NATO summit, increased joint defense spending, Iran tensions and efforts to end the war in Ukraine.
President Donald Trump is returning from the annual NATO summit in Turkey having secured several deals that include alliances investing in US defense companies and moving to increase production in Europe.
The White House on Thursday released a fact sheet detailing $3 billion in agreements and partnerships involving US defense companies and America’s European partners that will boost the defense industry base on both sides of the Atlantic. It comes amid pressure from the Trump administration for NATO members to increase defense spending.
The announcement noted that Lockheed Martin will work to establish a Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) missile support base in Europe, which will improve the air defense capabilities of the NATO alliance.
Lockheed Martin said the commitment involved the US, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland and Sweden, adding that the facility would provide the skills to repair and sustain the air defense missiles needed after Patriot consultants saw heavy use in Ukraine and the Middle East in recent years.
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Patriot missile systems play an important role in the air and missile defense of the US and NATO forces. (US Army/Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Smith/10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command/DVIDS/Fox News)
The company will also partner with German defense firm Rheinmetall to produce the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS), which was also in high demand after the US provided Ukraine with ballistic missiles for use in its war with Russia.
Lockheed Martin said the joint production of weapons in Germany will meet the demand for domestically produced weapons and strengthen NATO members in Europe as production is expected to start early next year after the expansion of Rheinmetall’s Unterluess facility.
Four NATO member states have signed a letter of interest in acquiring Northrop Grumman’s MQ-4C Triton aircraft, a maritime surveillance aircraft similar to the RQ-4D Phoenix variant of the Global Hawk Drone NATO operates in Italy.
The MQ-4C Triton is a maritime surveillance aircraft. (US Navy/LT Alex Delgado/DVIDS/Fox News)
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RTX, formerly known as Raytheon, will collaborate with the US Department of Defense in a feasibility study to increase production of its Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) in Europe.
The company’s announcement noted that AMRAAM has been used by more than 40 countries, and production in Europe will make supply chains more robust.
AMRAAM is a popular air-to-air missile. (US Air Force/Airman Class 1st Reagan Hardy/DVIDS/Fox News)
RTX will also work with European companies, including German manufacturer Diehl Defense and Dutch suppliers, on the goal of doubling production of Stinger missiles, a shoulder-fired air-to-air missile system used by 24 countries, including 10 NATO members, the company said.
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Production of Stinger man-portable air defense systems will double under the RTX deal. (US Army/Staff Sgt. John Yountz/173rd Airborne Brigade/DVIDS/Fox News)
The White House announcement also noted that Aerospace and Defense giant Boeing will work with Rheinmetall-Italy in a potential partnership to increase production and sustainment of Boeing’s Small Diameter Bomb in Europe.
In addition, Anduril will cooperate with Polish defense company PGZ in the production of Barracuda-500M cruise missiles launched in Bydgoszcz, Poland. Anduril and PGZ intend to increase the localization of the supply chain in the future to make Polish Barracuda have more European parts.
| A ticker | Security | Finally | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LMT | LOCKHEED MARTIN CORP. | 518.16 | -9.64 |
-1.83% |
| NOC | Northrop Grumman Corp. | 545.11 | -3.93 |
-0.72% |
| RTX | Rating of the company RTX CORP. | 194.91 | -5.94 |
-2.96% |
| BA | This company BOEING CO. | 224.95 | -6.73 |
-2.90% |
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The Barracuda-500M is designed to serve as a long-range precision missile that can go through mass production at a lower cost than precision strike weapons. The US Department of Defense announced a framework agreement earlier this year to rapidly ramp up production of the surface-launched Barracuda.
