500 Patriots, Zero U.S. Tax Dollars: What the $2.1 Billion Ukraine Deal Says About Trump's Arms Model

Washington approved the sale of 500 PAC-3 MSE interceptors to Ukraine, with Canada, Germany, Norway and the European Union paying the bill. Kyiv is grateful but warns delivery could take years. Here is what the deal does and does not do.

By Clara Hughes

On Thursday, October 30, the State Department approved a possible sale of 500 Patriot PAC-3 MSE missiles to Ukraine, worth an estimated $2.1 billion, Breaking Defense reported. The headline number is large. The most important line in the notice is short: "No U.S. funds are involved." According to Breaking Defense, the sale will be paid for by Canada, Germany and Norway through a program called JUMPSTART, together with funds from the European Union's Ukraine Support Loan. Lockheed Martin is the principal contractor. That is the Trump approach to the war in Ukraine in a single transaction. America builds the interceptor that Reuters calls the most effective weapon against fast-moving ballistic missiles, American workers make it, and allies who live much closer to the war pay for it. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called it a "strong decision," Euronews reported on Saturday. He