Lockheed Martin [LMT] expects Germany and Italy to select contractors for their respective missile defense programs no later than April, company spokeswoman Mellissa Hilliard said Thursday.
Lockheed Martin calls Germany’s TLVS, or tactical air defense system, a new generation of air and missile defense that requires a flexible architecture based on strong networking capabilities. The tri-national Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS), of which Lockheed Martin is teaming with MBDA of Germany and Italy, is a candidate for TLVS, according to a Lockheed Martin statement.
Photo: MBDA Germany.
Company Vice President of Air and Missile Defense Business Development Mike Trotsky told reporters Wednesday Germany has been studying TLVS candidates for over a year. Raytheon [RTN] is also a candidate with its Patriot air and missile defense system, company spokeswoman Bailey Sargent said Thursday. Some combination of both systems is also a possibility (Defense Daily, Sept. 23).
MEADS is also expected to become the basis of Italy’s national defense system, according to Lockheed Martin. Trotsky said MEADS completed a formal contract review with evaluators from Germany, Italy and the United States in December, completing a series of achievements that began with a successful dual intercept back in 2013.
Lockheed Martin also said MEADS will participate in technical discussions for Poland’s short-range Narew air defense system. Narew will be capable of destroying aircraft, helicopters, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and cruise missiles. Raytheon and Kongsberg are teaming to offer the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile (NASAMS) for Narew, Sargent said.
Trotsky also said Lockheed Martin and the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) are in discussions for a multi-year contract procurement of the company’s Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system. Lockheed Martin spokeswoman Cheryl Amerine said Thursday the company and MDA are negotiating a five-year deal, but she didn’t provide details of the potential value. Trotsky said the United States is currently under contract for six THAAD batteries while Lockheed Martin is working on a seventh battery.
Lockheed Martin and MDA are also in discussions over an eighth and ninth THAAD battery, Trotsky added. THAAD provides the United States with the capability to destroy ballistic missiles inside or outside the atmosphere during their final, or terminal, phase of flight.