Rheinmetall and Lockheed Martin Sign Toward an ATACMS Joint Venture at Unterlüß — the First Production Line Outside the United States
Unterlüß, 7 July 2026
Key points
- On 7 July 2026, at the NATO summit's defence-industry forum in Ankara, Rheinmetall and Lockheed Martin signed a memorandum of understanding — backed by the US and German governments — as the next step toward a joint venture to produce the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) at Unterlüß in Lower Saxony
- The companies call it the “world's first and only production facility for ATACMS guided missiles outside the United States”; rocket-motor and component work is to begin as early as 2027, with the up-to-300-kilometre ballistic round scaling toward full output later in the decade
- It is less than Rheinmetall sought: more than a year ago CEO Armin Papperger pressed for licensed European production of the Patriot PAC-3 interceptor, and the venture floated then covered both — the July outcome grants ATACMS production but, on the PAC-3, only a shared maintenance depot
- The US Army is itself phasing ATACMS out in favour of the longer-ranged Precision Strike Missile (PrSM), which made its combat debut in March 2026
Rheinmetall and Lockheed Martin signed a memorandum of understanding on 7 July 2026, at the NATO summit's industry forum in Ankara, as the next step toward a joint venture to build the Army Tactical Missile System at Rheinmetall's Unterlüß plant — what the two companies call the first ATACMS production line outside the United States.
The memorandum, backed by the United States and German governments, sets up what Rheinmetall and Lockheed Martin describe as the “world's first and only production facility for ATACMS guided missiles outside the United States.” Rheinmetall's chief executive, Armin Papperger, said the line at Unterlüß in Lower Saxony would build the up-to-300-kilometre ballistic missile; the companies put the start of rocket-motor and component production as early as 2027, with full-missile output scaling over the following years. It is a memorandum toward a joint venture, not yet a firm contract.
It is markedly less than Rheinmetall had asked for. More than a year ago Papperger pressed for licensed European production of the Patriot PAC-3 — the hit-to-kill interceptor that holds Ukrainian cities against ballistic missiles — and the joint venture floated then covered both weapons. What Washington granted at Ankara was ATACMS production and, on the PAC-3, only a maintenance-and-repair depot shared among the United States, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland and Sweden. Michael Duffey, the US Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, left the rest open with a non-commitment: “We leave open the opportunity for production beyond the US borders, absolutely.”
The asymmetry runs deeper than summit choreography. ATACMS is a weapon the US Army is itself retiring, replaced in its own arsenal by the longer-ranged Precision Strike Missile, which reached combat in March 2026. The PAC-3, by contrast, is the round in demand — still made only in the United States, and the one capability Kyiv keeps asking for and Berlin keeps offering to build.
The proprietary read. This is what “produce more,” the phrase NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte used on the summit's eve, looks like read closely: Washington licensed the missile it is phasing out and kept the interceptor it is not. For Rheinmetall the plant is real work, and a sovereign ATACMS line matters; but as Signal No. 98 set out, the licence that moved on day one moved away from the PAC-3, not toward it. A maintenance depot repairs the interceptor Europe cannot yet build — it does not build it.
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Britain joins the US–Australia Precision Strike Missile (7 July 2026)
Sources: Rheinmetall · Lockheed Martin · US Department of Defense · Reuters.
First reported in Signal No. 98, 7 July 2026.