The Dutch Ministry of Defence announced that a feasibility study on whether an American-origin air-defense munition can be produced in the Netherlands will be launched early next year. The study will specifically assess the possibility of joint production in Europe of AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles. The U.S. government officially approved the evaluation process to be carried out in the Netherlands last weekend.
The study will examine AMRAAM production capacity and the Netherlands’ role
According to the ministry’s statement, the feasibility study will determine to what extent the Dutch defense industry can contribute to production, assembly and maintenance processes. AMRAAM missiles are among the advanced air-to-air munitions used against medium-range threats such as manned or unmanned aircraft and cruise missiles. The missiles are used on F-35 fighter jets in the Dutch inventory both for defense and for air-superiority purposes. They also serve in ground-based air and missile defense systems.
A first within NATO: a U.S.–Netherlands joint production step
This initiative is regarded as the first strategic step toward AMRAAM production with a European NATO ally. The project is said to be critical for strengthening transatlantic defense cooperation, reducing bottlenecks in the production chain, and ensuring the sustainability of military support to Ukraine.
Raytheon will conduct the feasibility studies
The feasibility process is planned to be carried out by the U.S. defense company Raytheon. It was reported that, upon completion of the study, a final decision will be made on producing AMRAAM munitions in the Netherlands and the scale of any such production will be determined.
