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Updated on: July 8, 2026 / 10:19 AM EDT
/ CBS News
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President Trump said Wednesday the U.S. will give Ukraine a production license to build its own Patriot missile interceptors for defense, granting a major request from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy amid the ongoing war with Russia. Speaking alongside Zelenskyy during NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, the U.S. president said his administration will grant the license to Ukraine, although he said the companies behind the Patriot defense system — Lockheed Martin and RTX Corporation (formerly Raytheon) — haven't been informed yet. CBS News has reached out Lockheed Martin for comment. The Patriot system, some of the most advanced defense technology, has been key in thwarting Russia's attacks. "A little birdie told me this, about the fact that we'll give them the right to make Patriots," Mr. Trump said. "We'll show them how to do it, it's very complex actually. But it's — you'll figure out the complexity quickly." "We're going to give a license to you to make Patriots," he clarified. Mr. Trump said the U.S. doesn't plan to give Ukraine more Patriots, because he said the U.S. needs the equipment. Zelenskyy made a pitch for the Patriot licenses on CBS News' "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" in May.
