In the United States, problems arose during the implementation of the plan to increase the production of Patriot anti-aircraft missiles at enterprises in Japan due to the lack of a critical component, the manufacturer of which is the Boeing company.
Points of attention
- The US encounters difficulties in boosting the production of Patriot air defense missiles at Japanese plants due to a critical component shortage from Boeing.
- Expanding missile production for the Patriot air defense system requires increased supply of homing warheads, posing a challenge for the United States.
- Enhancing missile output in Japan is a complex task, potentially taking several years, due to component shortages and the need for increased capacity.
- Boeing's efforts to expand production capacity for Patriot missiles are in progress, with new production lines expected to be operational by 2027.
- The US aims to raise the global production of Patriot missiles from about 500 to over 750 per year, necessitating solutions to the current production constraints.
What is known about the problems in the USA with the increase in the production of Patriot anti-aircraft missiles
It is noted that, according to American officials and sources from this industry, to expand the production of missiles for the Patriot air defense system at enterprises in Japan, it is necessary to increase additional deliveries of homing heads produced by the Boeing company.
At the same time, the Japanese company Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, under the license of the defense contractor Lockheed Martin, produces about 30 missiles for the Patriot air defense system every year and can increase the production to 60 units per year.
The U.S. hopes to increase production from about 500 per year to more than 750 per year globally as soon as possible.
It may take several years before MHI will be able to increase production volumes due to the shortage, - explained one of the journalists' interlocutors.
What difficulties arise with increasing the production of missiles for the Patriot air defense system in Japan
Last year, Boeing began expanding its capacity to increase production by 30%, although the additional production lines will not be operational until 2027.
Even with a supply of sufficient homing warheads, expanding Japan's annual production of Patriot missiles to more than 60 would require MHI to increase capacity.
Given this, MHI or the United States will have to find the money to build a new missile factory, which could cost at least tens of millions of dollars, one Japanese government source said.
