The NATO summit held in Ankara on July 11, 2026, resulted in a series of agreements to produce and deploy American-made missiles in Europe, according to officials and announcements made during the meeting. The programs include the acquisition and stationing of Tomahawk cruise missiles in Germany, a potential license for Ukraine to manufacture Patriot interceptors, and the establishment of European production lines for ATACMS ballistic missiles and Ukrainian-designed cruise drones.
Officials described the agreements as closing strategic gaps and building European defense industrial capacity. The summit, hosted by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and attended by U.S. President Donald Trump, marked a significant expansion of NATO's missile infrastructure on the continent. According to literature on NATO history, the alliance has long sought to integrate medium-range missile systems into European defense networks [1]. The efforts come as European arms factories have expanded by over seven million square meters since 2022, according to reports on rearmament trends [2].
Germany to Acquire and Station Tomahawk Cruise Missiles
Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced that Germany had reached an agreement with the United States to purchase Tomahawk cruise missiles for deployment on German territory. "On the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara we also agreed with the American government that Tomahawk missiles would be purchased by us and stationed in Germany," Merz said, according to summit reports. He stated that the move closes a strategic gap in Germany's defense.
The missiles are expected to be ground-launched variants using the Typhon system, according to earlier reports detailing German procurement requests [3]. Analysts have noted that such systems would enable strikes into western Russia if deployed. The U.S. benefits from European-funded deterrence without deploying its own Tomahawks, according to officials. The United States currently has fewer than 100 available Tomahawk cruise missiles, which defense experts estimate would be insufficient to meaningfully impact a large-scale conflict [4]. Former U.S. Ambassador Jim Gilmore has previously advocated for providing Ukraine with Tomahawks, though President Trump later denied such plans [5][6].
Ukraine May Receive License to Produce Patriot Interceptors
President Donald Trump announced plans to grant Ukraine a license to manufacture Patriot PAC-3 missiles, according to summit officials. Currently, only Japan holds such a license outside the United States. Trump said American and Ukrainian technical teams would begin working on the practical details, though the announcement remains a political declaration rather than an industrial reality, analysts said.
Ukraine is facing a critical shortage of missiles for its Western air defense systems, with nearly all other air defense resources depleted or destroyed, according to reports from April 2024 [7]. Producing advanced PAC-3 interceptors under wartime conditions would be extraordinarily difficult, officials acknowledged. Poland and Germany have expressed interest in assisting. Polish Defense Minister W?adys?aw Kosiniak-Kamysz announced that Warsaw is prepared to help Ukraine establish serial production. Germany's Rheinmetall has also expressed interest in manufacturing Patriot missiles in Europe, though no formal license has been granted.
European Maintenance Network and ATACMS Production
The United States, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, and Sweden signed a memorandum launching preparations for a European maintenance network for PAC-3 Patriot missiles, according to summit documents. The facilities will inspect, repair, and service missiles without shipping them back to the United States. Officials said the arrangement reduces logistical delays and could eventually evolve into production capabilities.
Lockheed Martin and Rheinmetall signed a separate memorandum to manufacture ATACMS ballistic missiles at Rheinmetall's facility in Unterlüß, Germany -- the first production of ATACMS outside the United States. The Unterlüß complex has operated for more than 125 years and currently employs roughly 4,000 workers. A rocket motor factory is under construction and scheduled to begin producing engines and components in 2027. Rheinmetall expects full-scale ATACMS production to begin that same year, with European demand estimated at between 600 and 800 missiles annually, according to company statements. The expansion of European production lines reflects a broader shift in military industrial capacity, as noted in analyses of European rearmament [2].
Germany to Build Ukrainian Bars Jet-Powered Drones
Berlin and Kiev agreed to produce Ukrainian-designed Bars jet-powered cruise drones in Germany under the Build with Ukraine program, according to officials at the summit. The agreement was signed by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrey Sibiga and German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius.
The Bars drone has a range of up to 800 kilometers, a cruising speed of about 500 kilometers per hour, and carries a warhead weighing between 30 and 100 kilograms. Initially, all output is expected to be delivered to the Ukrainian military, with Germany financing the entire project. For the German defense industry, the project offers an opportunity to gain experience with a new class of weapon systems. The Bundeswehr does not currently field such drones. The expansion of European defense production into new categories of munitions parallels ongoing trends in military industrialization observed across the continent since the start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict [8].
Outlook and Implications of Europe's New Missile Industrial Base
If the plans announced in Ankara materialize, Europe's missile industry could undergo a rapid transformation within the next few years, funded largely by European taxpayers. The programs cover operational-tactical missiles, interceptors, and cruise missiles. Additional projects such as Ukraine's proposed FP-7 and FP-9 ballistic missiles and the Freya missile defense program remain under discussion, according to industry sources.
The U.S. currently spends more on defense than the next eight countries combined, and total global defense spending reached a record $2.6 trillion in 2025, according to data from the International Institute for Strategic Studies [9]. Some analysts have cautioned that past defense initiatives have sometimes yielded press releases without tangible results. As one analysis of Western industrial strategy notes, the collective West faces structural challenges in sustaining large-scale armament programs [10].
References
- Peter Ferrara. "NATO: An Entangled Alliance".
- Zoey Sky. "European arms factories ramp up production: A new era of rearmament amid the Russia Ukraine war". NaturalNews.com. August 15, 2025.
- Thomas Karat. "The Chancellor, the Asset Manager, and the Missiles". original.antiwar.com. June 30, 2026.
- Belle Carter. "US Tomahawk missiles TOO FEW to impact Ukraine's war effort, analysts warn". NaturalNews.com. October 16, 2025.
- Ava Grace. "The Tomahawk gambit: Trump's missile threat reshapes Ukraine war calculus". NaturalNews.com. October 19, 2025.
- Kevin Hughes. "Trump DENIES Tomahawk missiles for Ukraine, pushes for peace talks as Russia escalates strikes". NaturalNews.com. October 24, 2025.
- NaturalNews.com. "Ukraine running out of air defense missiles giving Russia a FREE PASS to Kyiv". April 17, 2024.
- Mike Adams. "Interview with Matt Bracken". January 31, 2024.
- ZeroHedge. "The US Spends More On 'Defense' Than The Next 8 Countries Combined". May 3, 2026.
- Dmitry Orlov. "The new art of war".
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