Ukraine signaled its next critical step in strengthening its air defense industry: jointly producing Patriot interceptors with Raytheon – the only system in Ukraine’s arsenal currently capable of intercepting Russian ballistic missiles.President Volodymyr Zelensky announced the cooperation proposal after meeting a Raytheon delegation led by company Vice President Joseph DeAntona, saying that Ukraine had long used Raytheon equipment to protect civilians from Russian attacks.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official.“I am grateful for the company’s readiness to take our partnership to an even higher level, with Ukraine jointly producing some of the most important air defense systems with Raytheon: interceptors for Patriot systems,” Zelensky said.However, he did not provide a specific timeline for launching production or disclose further details about the proposed arrangement.Proposal following Trump talks in AnkaraZelensky noted that the meeting came after the prospect of joint production was previously discussed with US President Donald Trump during NATO summit talks in Ankara, Turkey on July 7-8.“During the meeting, we also discussed other areas of partnership involving non-offensive military equipment,” Zelensky said, adding that “now is the time to move forward in this direction.”According to him, representatives from the Ukrainian government, Raytheon and the private sector will remain in close contact to finalize the proposals.Lockheed Martin unveils PAC-3 ACE, a cheaper Patriot interceptor versionAs global demand surges and Ukraine continues to face critical shortages of ballistic missile defenses, Lockheed Martin introduced a new Patriot interceptor the PAC-3 ACE, designed to deter air and missile threats at less than half the cost of the PAC-3 MSE.