Ukraine Wants Japan to Help Build Patriot Missiles at Home
Kyiv is eyeing Mitsubishi to help set up domestic air defense lines, arguing Japan’s pacifism shouldn't stop it from helping shoot down incoming rockets.
Ukraine is pitching Japan as the ultimate partner to launch local production of Patriot air defense missiles under American license.
As it turns out, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is one of the very few outfits on earth already cranking out licensed interceptors for its own defense forces. Presidential aide Sergiy Kyslytsya floated the idea, pointing out that Japan's strict pacifist constitution should not be an issue here: intercepting ballistic threats is purely defensive, so legally, nobody is breaking the peace.
Kyiv aims to secure the licenses and establish domestic production lines before the end of 2026. Meanwhile, Donald Trump has previously voiced support for handing over missile licensing rights to Ukraine, and neighbors like Poland are also eyeing joint manufacturing.
Persuading Tokyo’s famously cautious bureaucracy to build high-tech missile assembly lines in an active conflict zone might just be the boldest diplomatic speedrun yet.
Source: Kyodo News
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