The Netherlands will buy European Patriot missiles

The Netherlands will join Germany, Romania, and Spain in buying the Patriot air defense missiles produced in Europe. The Ministry of Defense announced this on Wednesday. A production line is being constructed in southern Germany, where thousands of the missiles will be built.

The missiles can help a patriot system shoot aircraft and projectiles out of the sky. Ukraine has been using the system in its defense against Russian weaponry. The Netherlands sent two launch installations to Ukraine last year and announced in October that it would donate additional missiles to be used in the systems.

Caretaker Minister of Defense Kajsa Ollongren has said in a statement, "In the near future, together with our European partners and the industry, we will continue to look at how we can scale up production capacity. This is desperately needed due to the war in Ukraine and the increasing threats and conflicts worldwide."

A spokesperson for the ministry could not say precisely how many missiles the Netherlands intends to buy. They also did not elaborate on when the missiles will be delivered.

When asked whether a portion will be sent to Ukraine again he answered that the order is "primarily" meant to supply the Netherlands.