Germany woos Trump with plan to make US weapons in Europe

{"text":[[{"start":7.92,"text":"Germany is pressing the US to allow more American weapons to be built on German soil, seeking to plug Europe’s military gaps while giving Donald Trump a reason to remain invested in the continent’s defence."}],[{"start":19.76,"text":"German officials are asking their US counterparts to agree a co-production deal ahead of next week’s Nato summit in Ankara, according to people familiar with the matter. The push is part of a broader effort by European states to use their defence-industrial capacity to steady their troubled relationship with Washington."}],[{"start":36.48,"text":"Talks on “joint production concepts” bringing together German and US industry were already ongoing, said one person."}],[{"start":43.48,"text":"Another said the discussions covered “anything” that would help both countries strengthen their defence capabilities, including co-production of long-range Tomahawk missiles and the most advanced form of missiles used by Patriot air-defence systems, known as PAC-3."}],[{"start":58.48,"text":"A third said the US response — both from government and industry — to these suggestions has been more positive than anticipated."}],[{"start":65.98,"text":"German officials argue that the country’s large industrial base, including an auto sector struggling with fierce competition from China, offers a win-win solution for Europe and the US."}],[{"start":75.98,"text":"Building critical US weapons in the EU’s largest economy would help Washington tackle capacity problems deepened by the war in Iran, they believe."}],[{"start":83.88,"text":"It would also help countries such as Germany obtain weapons more quickly as they race to re-arm in response to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. But any decision to produce sensitive American technology outside the US would require Washington’s consent."}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":99.36,"text":"Germany’s defence ministry told the FT there was already “intensive and well-established” co-operation between US and German defence companies, citing Rheinmetall’s production of fuselages for Lockheed Martin’s F-35 fighter jets and a new MBDA-Raytheon facility to make PAC-2 and GEM-T Patriot missiles."}],[{"start":117.74,"text":"The ministry said Germany would continue to explore ways to expand production capacity and speed up delivery of “urgently needed weapon systems” for the Bundeswehr and other European states, adding that the country’s industry could play an important role."}],[{"start":131.16,"text":"European officials hope to use the Ankara summit to build on what they see as a more constructive phase in transatlantic relations after the G7 meeting in Evian, where the US president appeared to shift in favour of Ukraine. Emmanuel Macron, the French president, described that moment as one of “new convergence between Americans and Europeans”."}],[{"start":150.28,"text":"The German government has been in contact with the German branch of European missile maker MBDA about working with Raytheon, which makes Tomahawk missiles, to produce a land-based variant of the cruise missile, according to one person familiar with the plans. The missile has a range of more than 2,000km."}],[{"start":168.16,"text":"The two companies already have a longstanding partnership but have not held direct talks about Tomahawks, the person said."}],[{"start":175,"text":"MBDA declined to comment."}],[{"start":177.28,"text":"Berlin is leading European efforts to prepare memorandums of understanding and contracts for joint production and purchases at the Nato summit."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":185.28,"text":"The push comes as US defence contractors struggle with large order backlogs and bottlenecks in key components such as solid rocket motors."}],[{"start":193.24,"text":"Berlin’s main goal is to fill deterrence gaps that Washington may leave as it reviews its commitment to the alliance and shifts military assets to the Indo-Pacific and the western hemisphere."}],[{"start":204.72,"text":"Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s coalition was particularly alarmed by the Pentagon’s decision in May to cancel the planned deployment to Germany of a battalion equipped with land-based Tomahawk systems. The Biden-era plan was intended as a Nato response to Moscow’s deployment of cruise missiles and fighter jets in Kaliningrad, the Russian exclave within striking distance of Berlin."}],[{"start":225.52,"text":"Since then, Germany has explored ways to secure Tomahawks, including by renewing a year-old request to buy the missiles. A government official said talks over a sale were ongoing."}],[{"start":236.76,"text":"Berlin is also considering Ukraine’s Flamingo cruise missile or other alternatives."}],[{"start":241.8,"text":"Thomas Röwekamp, chair of the German defence committee at the Bundestag, said : “If there is something that fulfils even 80 per cent of [the Tomahawks’] capabilities, then we’ll just buy more with less accuracy and less technology.”"}],[{"start":252.88,"text":"“We urgently need what Tomahawks can do to defend the European continent,” he added. “If the Americans won’t station and won’t deliver, we must find new ways to secure the capabilities.”"}],[{"start":262.88,"text":"Two people briefed on the co-production talks said discussions were “going well”. But one warned that any decision would ultimately be political — and would come amid strain between Merz and Trump over the Iran war. A third person said the talks were still at an early stage."}],[{"start":279.88,"text":"Some were sceptical that Washington would allow some of its most sensitive technology to be produced overseas."}],[{"start":285.92,"text":"Bastian Ernst, another member of the Bundestag’s defence committee, said that he was a “big supporter” of the German-US relationship, but warned that the idea was “unrealistic.”"}],[{"start":295.6,"text":"“I do not believe that the Americans will let us look into their “black box” with all the IP and sensitive technology,” he said. “The F-35 fuselage is just bits of metal — that’s not magic. Any technology that we want to acquire to fill capability gaps is technology that is too sensitive for them to give us.”"}],[{"start":314.84,"text":"In an illustration of the challenges of joint ventures, Rheinmetall chief executive Armin Papperger said in May that a plan to co-produce rockets and missiles with Lockheed Martin was going slower than he had hoped, with difficult negotiations over costs, technology transfer and production quantities."}],[{"start":335.54,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1782887627_1943.mp3"}