Zelenskyy just asked Japan’s Mitsubishi to help Ukraine build Patriot air defense missiles.
The Ukrainian president called the Japanese conglomerate probably the strongest example in the world today of taking an American license and deploying independent anti-ballistic missile production.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries has license-produced Patriot interceptors for decades — the longest-running foreign Patriot production line anywhere.
Ukraine is now seeking a formal technical exchange to learn how Japan did it.
“We would like to see them in Ukraine, definitely,” Zelenskyy said, while noting the decision depends on the Japanese side.
The request follows a US announcement granting Ukraine licensing rights to manufacture Patriot missiles domestically, with American experts guiding Ukrainian engineers through the process.
In exchange, Kyiv is offering its own battlefield-tested defense technologies — four years of real-world experience against ballistic missile attacks..
Japan only eased its decades-old arms export restrictions this April, opening a legal path for moves like this.
Tokyo has not yet responded.