Defense industrial base kicks into high gear for US, Europe

The United States and Europe made several defense contracting announcements this week at the NATO Summit in Ankara, Turkey, totaling approximately $3 billion that will improve the military capabilities of countries on both sides of the Atlantic.
While many of the deals will take years to fully complete, the push is a part of the broader “NATO 3.0” revitalization in which European countries will do more to share the defense burden instead of heavily relying on the U.S., which itself has acknowledged a need to increase its capacity.
“President Trump doesn’t travel overseas without bringing deliverables home to our country – and this year’s NATO Summit was no exception, as American defense companies benefited from over $3 billion in major deals and joint ventures with our allies,” White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly told the Washington Examiner in a statement.
Among the many announced deals, Lockheed Martin agreed to establish a Patriot Advanced Capability-3 Missile Sustainment Facility in Europe for the missiles used by the Patriot air defense system and announced a joint venture with Rheinmetall to produce the Army Tactical Missile System on the continent as well.
“The historic NATO commitments secured by President Donald J. Trump will strengthen global security and power American industry,” Jim Taiclet, the chairman, CEO, and president of Lockheed Martin, said in a statement. “Lockheed Martin will support this effort by expanding missile sustainment capacity in Europe through the establishment of a new PAC-3 Missile Maintenance Facility, by partnering with Rheinmetall to establish European production of ATACMS and through other initiatives. These investments deepen transatlantic industrial cooperation, strengthen our partnerships and reinforce credible deterrence for the Alliance.”
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