Ukraine negotiates with France for licenses to produce SCALP missiles
Ukraine is negotiating with France for licenses to produce SCALP cruise missiles and with the US for air defense system production licenses, according to Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov announced that Ukraine is in active negotiations with France regarding the possibility of obtaining licenses to produce French SCALP cruise missiles. The statement was made during a joint briefing with Danish Defense Minister Jeppe Bruus.
Fedorov said that during President Zelenskyy's visit to France, there was a “very good conversation” with President Macron about sharing licenses for these missiles. Talks are ongoing with both the government and the manufacturing company, with all details being clarified. While progress has been made, the process is complicated due to intellectual property issues and bureaucracy.
The minister also revealed that following the G7 summit, a separate dialogue is underway with U.S. partners concerning licenses for the development and production of air defense systems. Fedorov described the initiation of such talks as unprecedented.
He emphasized that Ukraine continues to scale up production of its own missiles and deep-strike weapons. It is crucial to support Ukrainian manufacturers through the Danish model or other formats, as Ukraine aims to rely as much as possible on its own capabilities.
Fedorov recalled previous discussions with Bruus about creating a joint anti-ballistic system. Additionally, on June 18 in Brussels, Ukraine and Germany signed an agreement to cooperate on producing anti-ballistic systems. On June 17, G7 leaders agreed to increase deliveries of air defense systems and interceptor missiles to Ukraine and expressed readiness to consider granting licenses for their production in Ukraine.
