Germany is urging the United States to allow more U.S. weapons to be produced in Germany to help address Europe’s military shortfalls and to give U.S. President Donald Trump a reason to keep supporting European defense.
According to Jin10, several people familiar with the matter said German officials have been engaging with their U.S. counterparts and hope to reach a co-production agreement before a NATO summit scheduled for next week in Ankara.
The effort is part of a broader push by European countries to use their own defense-industrial capacity to stabilize strained relations with Washington, the sources said.
People familiar with the talks said negotiations over the co-production concept have already begun between German and U.S. defense companies. The discussions reportedly cover “anything that helps both sides improve defense capabilities,” including co-producing long-range Tomahawk missiles and the most advanced PAC-3 missile variant used for the Patriot air defense system.
One source said the response from the U.S. government and industry to the proposals has been “more positive than expected.”