U.S. plans to produce more Patriot air defense missiles — critical for Ukraine's defense against Russia — at Japanese factories is delayed by shortages of a crucial component made by Boeing, four unnamed sources told Reuters.
The U.S. is looking to increase production of the missiles from 500 annually to more than 750 globally as fast as possible, one source told Reuters.
No expansion in Japan will be possible at all without additional missile seekers, the part that guides them in the final stages of the flight, sources said.
Under a contract from the defense contractor Lockheed Martin, the Japanese company Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) currently produces around 30 PAC-3 missiles annually. MHI could up that figure to around 60, Japanese government officials and industry sources said.
But "it could take several years before MHI is able to raise output" as a result of the shortage, an industry source said.
"The production snag in Japan shows the challenges Washington faces in plugging industrial help from its global allies into its complex supply chains," Reuters wrote.
Ukraine has struggled to obtain the adequate number of Patriot missiles systems it needs to protect itself from Russia as the number of the systems in existence is limited and some partners are hesitant to give theirs up to Ukraine.
Chris York
(Updated: )
