Europe localizes Patriot missile production: first plant to start operations in Germany

The first interceptor missiles for Patriot air defense systems, produced at new facilities in Germany, are expected to be delivered to customers in 2027. Production is being established in Schrobenhausen, Bavaria, where the first Patriot missile manufacturing plant in Europe is being created.

This concerns GEM-T missiles of the PAC-2 family. The project is being implemented by COMLOG, a joint venture between the American company Raytheon, which is part of RTX, and Germany's MBDA Deutschland.

Previously, the head of MBDA Deutschland, Thomas Gottschild, stated that final assembly of the Patriot would take place in Schrobenhausen, and the company plans to deliver the first missiles to customers within three years from the start of the project in 2024.

Order is for hundreds of missiles

The basis for the production development was a contract that the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) signed with COMLOG in January 2024 as part of the European Sky Shield initiative.

The maximum contract value is €5.1 billion. If all expected options are implemented, the facility should manufacture up to 1,000 Patriot GEM-T missiles.

The joint order includes Germany, the Netherlands, Romania, and Spain. The mechanism also allows other European countries that are Patriot operators to join.

The large guaranteed order volume became the economic basis for creating new production facilities in Europe and engaging additional suppliers.

Production chain is localized in Germany

Final assembly of the missiles will be carried out at the MBDA Deutschland site in Schrobenhausen. COMLOG has been servicing and modernizing Patriot missiles for European countries and the U.S. Army there for many years.

Since its establishment, the company has performed maintenance on more than 5,000 PAC-2 missiles. Now the site is transitioning from primarily service work to the production of new missiles.

Some key components will also be manufactured in Europe. In particular, Germany's Bayern-Chemie, part of MBDA, is preparing production facilities for the manufacture of GEM-T motors.

Construction and expansion of production infrastructure in Schrobenhausen officially began in November 2024. The groundbreaking ceremony for the new facilities was attended by German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius and Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder.

MBDA is concurrently expanding the site's areas for production, repair, modernization, and storage of various types of missiles. The company plans to gradually introduce part of the new infrastructure by 2028.

Which missiles will be produced

The German plant will produce GEM-T, a modernized variant of the Patriot PAC-2 missile. It is designed to intercept aircraft, cruise and tactical ballistic missiles, and other aerial targets.

This is an important clarification: GEM-T is not the PAC-3 MSE missile, which is also used by Patriot systems and primarily specializes in intercepting complex ballistic targets using hit-to-kill kinetic technology.

Thus, the new line does not transfer the entire spectrum of Patriot ammunition production to Germany. However, it creates a separate large European supply source for GEM-T, which previously depended significantly on American production capacity.

Why Europe is increasing Patriot production

The decision to localize production was made against the backdrop of a sharp increase in demand for air and missile defense missiles following the start of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine.

For European Patriot operators, the new production should reduce dependence on American factories, accelerate replenishment of stocks, and increase missile availability in case of a prolonged conflict.

Ukraine is also a Patriot operator and regularly emphasizes the shortage of interceptors. However, the NSPA contract for the production of up to 1,000 GEM-T is formally primarily for a coalition of European countries and does not by itself mean that all or some of the missiles from the German line will automatically be transferred to Ukraine.

Sources: MBDA Deutschland, MBDA Deutschland / NSPA, MBDA Deutschland