A senior delegation from Poland attended the Nov. 6 tri-national Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS) successful dual intercept of simultaneously attacking air-breathing target and a tactical ballistic missile in the New Mexico desert, officials said.
Poland plans to procure a modernized air and missile defense capability and the MEADS system or elements of it could become part of it. In March, a senior defense official said it planned to spend about $10 billion for modernizing air defense, and about half of that amount on lower tier missile defense (Defense Daily, Sept. 19). Poland, notably, is one of the few countries planning to increase its defense spending in coming years.
MEADS is a 360 degree air and missile defense system winding up a design and development phase for the United States, Germany and Italy. MEADS International, an industry team of Lockheed Martin [LMT] in the United States and MBDA in Germany and Italy, work on the program.
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Photo: MEADS International |
The MEADS International industry team already has taken part in a “technical dialogue” whereby Poland was evaluating potential providers, said Lockheed Martin Air and Missile Defense Business Development Director Marty Coyne during a recent teleconference.
“Poland has expressed interest in MEADS resulting in us having discussions with them both here and of course in Poland,” Coyne said. Poland is about to launch a formal acquisition program seeking a modern 360-degree air defense system.
“Those requirements line up perfectly with MEADS,” he said.
Additionally, Poland is looking for significant industrial participation, he said. Discussions have included the MEADS partnership model, where from the industrial standpoint, the companies, Lockheed Martin and MBDA “work as single team where we’re all equal.”
Poland could “become a member of the team, not a customer, client or subcontractor, but to actually be an equal member,” Coyne said.
In late September, the Polish defense and treasury ministers reached agreement to create a single defense industry holding, published reports said. The holding would be made up of about 40 companies to create synergies and aid in modernizing the defense industry.
Poland is closing in on a selection from the potential providers and will initiate a formal acquisition process. “The goal is to complete the acquisition process and have a contract awarded by the end of 2014,” Coyne said. This lines up with the MEADS program, which will just be completing its design and development phase and could “translate seamlessly into a European follow-on program.