Faced with a missile shortage, the US and Germany join hands to produce Patriot.

Lockheed Martin and German manufacturer Diehl Defense signed a cooperation agreement today to expand the global supply chain for the Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) Missile Segment Enhancement (MSE) interceptor missile.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), signed at the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) annual exhibition, marks the beginning of efforts to enhance supply chain resilience.

This sought-after weapons system is used to intercept ballistic missiles, cruise missiles as well as neutralize hypersonic threats.

Over time, conflicts have caused a serious depletion of these missiles, causing the US and its allies to worry about a shortage, creating a gap in the event of a conflict.

In particular, in the conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine, the US and its allies are said to have consumed thousands of PAC missiles and even destroyed many Patriot systems.

Data in July 2025 estimated that the US only had about 25% of the missiles needed. Therefore, looking to allied partners to support the supply of components for PAC-3 missiles is the top concern of the US.

“Having a dual source, even a third source… supply chain management capability is essential to be able to ramp up quickly… to get more supplies to the market or in Europe to support the Ukrainian people,” Torsten Cook, Diehl's senior vice president of ground air defense, told Breaking Defense.

The MoU with Lockheed Martin is a “first step” toward realizing this ambition, Mr. Cook said, emphasizing the priority of using “European components” for the PAC-3 MSE.

Cook also revealed that Lockheed could “participate” in “local German activity” by investing in thermal batteries, which Diehl said its subsidiary Eagle Pitcher currently supplies for PAC-3 as well as other weapon systems such as the Stinger, IRIS-T and Evolved SeaSparrow Missile (ESSM).

The United States and Germany are among 17 partner nations that have chosen to use the advanced Patriot interceptor missile, according to a statement from Lockheed Martin. The world's leading defense contractor won a $9.8 billion contract to produce nearly 2,000 PAC-3 MSE interceptors and support equipment in September.

In a related development, Boeing also just announced that it has received multi-year contracts, worth an estimated $2.7 billion, to provide additional seekers for PAC-3. According to the company, more than 3,000 seekers will be produced at a rate of 750 per year until 2030.