According to officials familiar with the discussions, U.S. President Donald Trump is considering asking American defense contractors to set up licensed weapons production facilities in Europe and Ukraine. This was reported by Dengi.ua , citing an article from Bloomberg.
During a conversation with journalists at the G7 summit in Evian, France, Trump confirmed that Washington is considering such an initiative.
“They would like to be able to do this, and we will consider the matter,” the U.S. president said.
Air defense systems, including interceptor missiles to counter Russian ballistic missiles, remain among Ukraine’s key needs. Production of such systems is currently concentrated in the U.S. However, as sources note, following a significant depletion of weapons stockpiles in Iran and given the time required to ramp up production, Trump informed allies of his willingness to explore the option of licensing the production of such systems outside the United States.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz noted that the details of possible agreements will be further discussed among the participating countries.
“The specific licenses in question will be discussed in detail among the participating countries,” said German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
According to him, the plan involves U.S. companies granting broad licenses to European manufacturers.
French President Emmanuel Macron also expressed support for this idea. According to him, Trump “insisted on mobilizing the U.S. defense industry and establishing the capacity to supply such equipment.” The French leader made this statement at the closing press conference following the conclusion of the G7 summit.
Currently, the United States already manufactures certain types of weapons under license abroad. One example is the Patriot missiles manufactured in Germany. At the same time, Washington has traditionally taken a cautious approach to such agreements, given concerns about intellectual property protection and the reliability of supply chains.
The U.S. continues to supply air defense systems through NATO’s PURL mechanism, which is funded by European countries and Canada. This is happening despite concerns about a possible reduction in existing weapons stockpiles.
For Ukraine, the G7 summit proved to be highly successful. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a meeting with Trump, and all participating countries, including the U.S., endorsed a joint statement following the event. In addition, the U.S. president expressed a willingness to consider increasing sanctions pressure on Moscow.
“We are all facing the problem of insufficient production, and this can be offset by granting licenses to companies that have the necessary production capacity,” emphasized German Chancellor Merz.
He added that both European and Ukrainian companies have such capabilities.