According to Ukrinform, he said this in an interview with Fox News.

"We do not allow anybody but U.S. manufacturers to make those [PAC-3 missiles] in the United States," Whitaker said.

At the same time, he noted that there are opportunities for joint weapons production with Ukraine and Europe.

"There are co-production opportunities that we could do with Ukrainians, that we can do with Europeans to increase the industrial base and to support the defense of Ukraine and defense of Europe," Whitaker said.

He said that work on some of these agreements is ongoing, adding that this is consistent with the outcomes of meetings with President Volodymyr Zelensky, as well as Whitaker's meetings with Ukrainian officials in Kyiv and with companies that possess the technologies and could help expand production of these missiles.

"I think we are moving forward," Whitaker said.

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He stressed that the most important thing now is to provide Ukraine with air defense capabilities as quickly as possible, either through allies that have additional missiles or by increasing production at U.S. factories.

"A long-term production deal is not going to be by this winter. So we're going to keep working on it but we're going to do first things first," Whitaker said.

Earlier, U.S. President Donald Trump said that the United States needs to be careful about whom it grants licenses to manufacture surface-to-air interceptor missiles for Patriot air defense systems.

Photo: U.S. Army