Trump pitched the idea as a way to shift responsibility to Ukraine to develop the systems itself.
“This way you can’t complain that we don’t give them enough,” Trump said. “I would say: Make them yourself.”
It was not immediately clear whether Trump was referring to full Patriot batteries, interceptor missiles or related components.
The Patriot is one of the most complex and sought-after air defense systems in Western arsenals, and any licensing arrangement may require buy-in from US industry and government agencies.
Trump himself admitted the idea had not yet been cleared by Raytheon and Lockheed Martin, the companies developing the system.
“We haven’t informed the company about that yet, but that will work out,” Trump said. “Sure, they’ll be happy.”
The US president said Ukraine will be able to manage the production process, despite describing the technology as “complex.”
“It’s very difficult, of course, but you’ll find out the difficulty quickly,” Trump said.
