Lockheed Martin and Rheinmetall are starting production of ATACMS tactical ballistic missiles at Rheinmetall’s Unterlüß plant in Germany, the first time the system will be manufactured outside the US and the missiles have a range up to 300 km and were used extensively by Ukraine against Russia.Allies at a NATO summit in Ankara also agreed to expand AMRAAM production and to establish a European maintenance centre for PAC-3 interceptors used in Patriot systems, with Germany, the Netherlands, Poland and Sweden involved in planning though no host is selected.Rheinmetall Chief Executive
Armin Papperger says building
ATACMS in Unterlüß will strengthen European defence autonomy and
NATO resilience, and the Biden administration authorised transfers that helped drive demand for a local production hub.