The Luxembourg-based NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) will support nations to procure up to 1,000 Patriot missiles through the auspices of its eight-nation Patriot Support Partnership (PSP).
The PSP members are Germany, Greece, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Spain, Sweden, and the US.
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In a statement released on Wednesday, the agency said:
“The NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) will support a coalition of nations with a contract for a combined quantity of up to 1,000 Patriot Guidance Enhanced Missiles.”
The contract includes the qualification of updated components, the addition of new suppliers, test equipment, and spares to support future sustainment. Other user nations are expected to benefit from the conditions of the contract.
The Agency awarded a production and delivery contract to COMLOG, a joint venture between Raytheon, an RTX business (NYSE: RTX), and MBDA. To support production and delivery, COMLOG will expand the production capacity of GEM-T missiles in Europe.
According to industry sources, the contract could be worth more than $5 billion.
The missiles are unlikely to be directly supplied to Ukraine initially but will enable European allies to free up more of their own air defense systems to help protect for Ukraine.
Thomas Gottschild, Managing Director of MBDA Germany said: “The contract strengthens industrial and military capabilities in Europe. The order volume will enable MBDA to set up a production facility for Patriot missiles in Germany, as well as major subcomponent production. The COMLOG facility is currently the only one of its kind for the Patriot missile outside the US. Overall, the contract supports European Patriot user states, creates workplaces in Germany, and strengthens the supply chain for ammunition.”
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Thomas Laliberty, Raytheon, President Land & Air Defense Systems: “Raytheon and MBDA have partnered with NSPA, the United States Army and a broad network of suppliers across the region to offer our European partners a GEM-T program which increases NATO’s air defense missile inventory, strengthens NATO deterrence, and sustains the operational readiness of Patriot air defense systems across Europe. This bundled procurement strengthens cooperation among European Patriot allies.”
“Russian missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian civilians, cities and towns show how important modern air defenses are,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said in a statement. “Scaling up ammunition production is key for Ukraine’s security and for ours.”
Russia's latest round of attacks saw several hundred missiles and kamikaze drones launched against Kyiv and other cities, as the war approaches its two-year mark. More than 50 civilians have been killed since the weekend.
A Support Partnership (SP) is a multinational cooperation mechanism established by two or more NATO nations wishing to organize common support and services activities.
The consolidation of requirements through an SP provides economies of scale, reducing costs and logistics footprint, and the legal framework offers common and efficient support. The Support Partnership format also encourages participating nations to discuss their logistics support challenges so that common and individual requirements can be identified and addressed.
For industry, the SP concept allows consolidation of all similar requirements from its participants. The Agency solicits industry through a competitive bidding process allowing suppliers to satisfy requirements from several nations through a single contract.
Ukraine is an associate member of NSPA’s Common Item Materiel Management (COMMIT) SP, which is a secure web-based e-Business application (NLSE) providing inventory management, equipment acquisition, mutual emergency equipment exchange, and logistics support.
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