The report quoted Michael Cadenazzi, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Policy, who said the process is still in the study and planning phase.
“We’re evaluating a set of COAs [courses of action] right now, which include a mix of domestic and international sourcing for end units, where they’re going to be located, how we’re going to build it, [and] which variant,” said Cadenazzi.
“I think we’ve got a long way to go to sort of formalize that, but there is robust, well-resourced effort and a commitment to meet the president’s target for coming up with the plan.”
Cadenazzi said his team is coordinating with the U.S. Army, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, the Defense Technology Security Administration, defense contractors and other stakeholders on how to carry out the project.
He said the hardest part of granting Ukraine a license to produce PAC-3 interceptors will be vetting and certifying a Ukrainian supply chain that could manufacture the missiles.
“There’s only so many engineers that know how to do this stuff,” the official noted.
“There’s only so many qualified parts [already available]. As you’re building a new supply chain … it takes time to find the qualified suppliers.”
He added that if the United States decides to license a simplified, cheaper version of the PAC-3 rather than the standard modification, the certification process could be even more complex.
“In that case, you need additional engineering work to make
sure that using cheaper components from new suppliers still delivers the same
level of reliability,” he said. “That’s what we’re working on now.”