Lenkflugkorpersyteme GmbH (LFK) (MBDA Deutschland) recently said it delivered the first Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS) launcher to MEADS International as part of the U.S., German and Italian air defense development program.
The completed launcher now moves to system integration with the initial MEADS battle manager and multifunction fire control radar at Pratica di Mare AFB in Italy in early 2011.
The MEADS system will begin flight testing at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., in 2012.
The MEADS lightweight launcher is easily transportable, is tactically mobile, and can be rapidly reloaded, LFK said in a statement. The launcher is designed to carry up to eight PAC-3 MSE missiles and to be launch ready in minimum time.
MEADS includes the launcher, 360-degree fire control and surveillance radars and a battle manager with plug-and-fight command and control abilities not found in current systems.
MEADS embodies key military requirements such as high mobility, a distributed architecture and modular components to increase survivability and flexibility of employment in a number of operational configurations and significantly increased firepower with greatly reduced personnel and logistics requirements.
One unique feature of MEADS is that the system can be configured to appropriately respond to specific threats, the company statement said. The rapid link-up of individual modules such as fire control radar, the battle manager and the launcher using plug-and-fight capability is possible at any time, anywhere, without interruption of ongoing operations. MEADS radars scan the complete perimeter to locate threats quickly and accurately.
NATO MEADS Management Agency (NAMEADSMA) General Manager Gregory Kee said, “MEADS will provide superior capabilities with unprecedented flexibility compared to current systems. Its 360-degree rotating capability will absolutely bring value to the warfighter–both in situational awareness and in being able to address threats from any direction. It provides dramatically increased capabilities over what’s available today.”
Werner Kaltenegger, managing director of MBDA Deutschland, said: “MEADS is a positive example for transatlantic cooperation on the basis of equality. For over a decade, we have proved that the industrial cooperation between Lockheed Martin, MBDA Italy and MBDA Germany works well. MEADS is the only full-scale tri-national, transatlantic development program, thus making it an especially valuable model for cooperation. In all, 1,800 colleagues in the U.S., Italy and Germany are working on MEADS. Germany accounts for 450 of these high-tech jobs. This does not include the hundreds of additional jobs that depend on this project indirectly.”
MEADS has been shown to defend up to eight times the coverage area with far fewer system assets. This allows for a substantial reduction in deployed personnel and equipment, and demand on airlift.
The advanced capability of MEADS is expected to contribute to future NATO missile defense. The Phased Adaptive Approach is built on interoperability within a NATO framework. The MEADS battle management capability successfully demonstrated interoperability with the NATO Air Command and Control System during a Joint Project Optic Windmill test in July (Defense Daily, Oct. 1). The interface test was conducted using the Active Layer Theater Ballistic Missile Defense Integration Test Bed being developed by NATO.
MEADS is expected to replace Patriot in the United States and Nike Hercules in Italy. It will replace Patriot and the retired Hawk system in Germany.
MEADS also is expected to meet new requirements not addressed by any previous or planned Air and Missile Defense system, LFK said. The system will combine superior battlefield protection with extensive flexibility, allowing it to protect maneuver forces and critical assets against tactical ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles and aircraft. It also provides an open architecture for 21st century air and missile defense system-of-system integration capabilities that allow operational mission-tailoring.
MEADS International is the prime contractor for the program. Major subcontractors and joint venture partners are MBDA in Italy, LFK (MBDA Deutschland) in Germany and Lockheed Martin [LMT] in the United States. The United States funds 58 percent of the MEADS program, Germany 25 percent and Italy 17 percent.