The American Raytown is considering the possibility of joint production of anti-aircraft missiles SM-2 and SM-6 with German defense factories.
The company is already increasing its production in the US, but the sharp increase in demand for air defense systems on ships is forcing them to look for additional production capacity in Europe.
The SM-2 is primarily designed to intercept air targets, while the more modern SM-6 has an increased range and is capable of hitting not only air targets, but also ballistic missiles in the final stage of flight.
A specific joint production plan has not yet been determined, but Raytheon already has experience in cooperation with Germany's Diehl Defense, with which the company produces anti-aircraft missiles of the RIM-116 RAM type for close defense of ships on a parity basis.
Germany's interest is also related to the promising F127 frigates, which are planned to be equipped with SM-2 and SM-6 missiles, as well as to provide the possibility of using SM-3 non-exatmospheric missiles.
In addition, localization of maintenance and production of AMRAAM aircraft missiles and Tomahawk cruise missiles has been discussed, but there are no specific agreements regarding them yet.