Trump turns NATO spending fight into win for US defense companies

President Donald Trump is returning from the annual NATO summit in Turkey having secured several deals involving allies investing in U.S. defense companies and moving to expand production in Europe.

The White House on Thursday released a fact sheet outlining $3 billion in deals and joint ventures involving U.S. defense companies and America’s European allies that will boost the defense industrial base on both sides of the Atlantic. It comes amid the Trump administration’s push for NATO members to increase spending on defense.

The announcement noted that Lockheed Martin will work to establish a Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) missile sustainment facility in Europe, which would boost the NATO alliance’s air and missile defense capabilities.

Lockheed Martin said the commitment involves the U.S., Germany, the Netherlands, Poland and Sweden, adding that the facility would provide in-region maintenance and sustainment capabilities for the in-demand air defense missiles after Patriot interceptors have seen heavy use in Ukraine and the Middle East in recent years.

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The company will also partner with German defense firm Rheinmetall to produce the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS), which has also been in high-demand after the U.S. provided the precision guided missile to Ukraine to use in its war with Russia.

Lockheed Martin said the co-production of the munitions through the joint venture in Germany will meet demand for locally produced weapons and strengthen NATO’s European members with production expected to begin as early as next year after the expansion of Rheinmetall’s Unterluess facility. 

Four NATO member countries signed a letter of interest in acquiring Northrop Grumman’s MQ-4C Triton aircraft, a maritime surveillance drone that’s similar to the RQ-4D Phoenix variant of the Global Hawk drone that NATO operates in Italy.

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RTX, formerly known as Raytheon, will work with the U.S. Department of War on a feasibility study to expand production of its Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air (AMRAAM) missile in Europe.

The company’s announcement noted that the AMRAAM has been used by more than 40 countries, and production in Europe would make supply chains more resilient.

RTX will also work with European companies, including German manufacturer Diehl Defence and Dutch suppliers, toward the goal of doubling production of Stinger missiles, a shoulder-fired surface-to-air missile system in use by 24 countries, including 10 NATO members, the company said.

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The White House’s announcement also noted that aerospace and defense giant Boeing will work with Rheinmetall-Italy on a potential partnership to expand production and sustainment for Boeing’s Small Diameter Bomb for Europe.

Additionally, Anduril will partner with Polish defense company PGZ on producing surface-launched Barracuda-500M cruise missiles in Bydgoszcz, Poland. Anduril and PGZ aim to increase the localization of the supply chain over time to make the Polish Barracuda with a majority of European components.

The Barracuda-500M is designed to serve as a long-range precision missile that can go through mass production at a lower cost than traditional precision strike weapons. The U.S. Department of War announced a framework agreement earlier this year to rapidly scale production of the surface-launched Barracuda.