OAN Staff Addie Davis
12:30 PM – Wednesday, July 8, 2026
While attending the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Summit in Turkey, President Donald Trump announced that the United States would grant Ukraine a production license to manufacture Patriot missile interceptors.
During a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday, Trump reportedly confirmed that the U.S. would be giving production rights to the Eastern European nations as efforts continue to strike a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia.
“A little birdie told me this, about the fact that we will give them the right to make Patriots. We’ll show them how to do it. It’s very complex actually,” Trump said.
“One of the things we’re going to be talking about is we’re going to give a license to you to make Patriots. That’s pretty cool, right?” he continued. “We haven’t informed the company of that yet, but that’ll work out all right. I’m sure they’ll be thrilled.”
Ukraine has utilized the Patriotic missile defense system to defend its skies throughout the ongoing war, but up until now, the country relied on the U.S. for its supply.
“The Patriot system is the best in the world for today. The best anti-ballistic system,” Zelensky said on Wednesday.
Reuters reports that Lockheed Martin is the primary contractor for the Patriot system’s interceptor missiles. According to the company’s website, these interceptors utilize “Hit-to-Kill technology” to destroy incoming threats, protecting ground forces and critical infrastructure from tactical ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and enemy aircraft.
“It’s a defensive weapon, which I like better than an offensive weapon,” Trump added.
Although President Trump did not provide a formal timeline for issuing the license or establishing production, he expressed confidence in Ukraine’s defense industry, stating he believed “they can produce them pretty quickly.”
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