Trump framed the idea as a way of shifting responsibility to Ukraine to manufacture the systems itself.
“This way you can’t complain that we’re not giving them enough,” Trump said. “I’d say: Make them yourself.”
It was not immediately clear whether Trump was referring to full Patriot batteries, interceptor missiles or related components.
The Patriot is one of the most complex and sought-after air defense systems in the Western arsenal, and any licensing arrangement would likely require buy-in from U.S. industry and government agencies.
Trump himself acknowledged the idea had not yet been cleared with Raytheon and Lockheed Martin, the companies that makes the system.
“We haven’t informed the company of that yet, but that’ll work out all right,” Trump said. “Sure, they’ll be thrilled.”
The U.S. president said Ukraine would be capable of mastering the production process, despite describing the technology as “complex.”
“It’s very complex, actually, but you’ll figure out the complexity quickly,” Trump said.