Germany Seeks US License to Build Tomahawk and Patriot PAC-3 on Its Own Soil
Germany is negotiating with the United States to license the domestic production of two critical precision-strike systems. According to a Financial Times report dated 1 July 2026, Berlin wants its own defence industry to build land-based Tomahawk cruise missiles and Patriot PAC-3 MSE interceptors. If approved, Germany would become the first continental European nation to manufacture both American systems.
What is on the table
Two systems sit at the centre of the plan. The Tomahawk is a cruise missile with a range exceeding 1,600 kilometres, reaching beyond 2,000 kilometres in some profiles, guided by inertial navigation, GPS, terrain-referencing TERCOM and scene-matching DSMAC. The Patriot PAC-3 MSE is a hit-to-kill interceptor optimised against tactical ballistic missiles such as Russia’s Iskander-M and North Korea’s KN-23. A single launcher carries 16 PAC-3 rounds against just four for the older PAC-2.
The industrial side
On the US side, Lockheed Martin builds the PAC-3 MSE while the Raytheon-led COMLOG venture handles shared logistics. On the German side, Rheinmetall, Diehl Defence, MBDA Deutschland, Airbus Defence and Space, KNDS Deutschland and Hensoldt are expected to join the production chain. Lockheed Martin has raised PAC-3 MSE output from roughly 300 units annually early in the decade to more than 500 in 2024, targeting 650 by 2027. NATO is projected to need about 2,000 interceptors a year by 2030.
Why Germany is moving now
Berlin’s push is driven by the 100 billion euro special defence fund (Sondervermögen) created in 2022 and expectations that defence spending will exceed 3.5 percent of GDP later this decade. The Bundeswehr currently lacks ground-launched precision fires beyond 84 kilometres. Washington’s cancellation of a Multi-Domain Task Force deployment to Europe, and NATO’s shift of long-range conventional fires toward European responsibility, have made that gap more visible.
The obstacles ahead
Analysts say the main barrier is not industrial capacity but technology-transfer authorisation. Source code, guidance algorithms and navigation architectures remain classified. A phased path is more realistic: components and subassemblies first, then final assembly and checkout. Solid rocket motors, specialised electronics and energetic materials carry procurement cycles beyond 24 months, and full operational output could take years once facilities, supplier certification and workforce training are accounted for.
In parallel, Germany is pursuing the European Long Range Strike Approach (ELSA), an expansion of IRIS-T air defence and the deployment of the Arrow 3 strategic interceptor. The Tomahawk and PAC-3 licence stands out as the most concrete step in Berlin’s drive for a more self-reliant industrial base for continental defence.
Sources: Financial Times, Lockheed Martin, Army Recognition.
