Medium Extended Air Defense System
Encyclopedia
Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS) is a military project intended to replace the aging Patriot
missile
system through a NATO-managed development. The USA, Germany
and Italy
are contributing toward the project. France
, though initially in the project, withdrew some time ago.
systems in Italy. It also meets the requirements of Germany’s “capabilities oriented” air defense concept. MEADS incorporates the Lockheed Martin hit-to-kill PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement (MSE) missile in a system including all-round surveillance and fire control sensors, netted-distributed battle management/communication centers and the launchers themselves. The system is designed to protect maneuvering forces and fixed locations against tactical ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles and aircraft
.
MEADS is to provide capabilities beyond any other fielded or planned air and missile defense system. It is to be easily deployed to a theater of operations and once there, will keep pace with fast-moving maneuver forces. When completed, MEADS will be the only air and missile defense system able to roll off tactical transports with the troops and almost immediately begin operations. More importantly, its open architecture will provide for 21st century air and missile defense system-of-system integration capabilities that allow operational mission-tailoring for homeland defense or defense of maneuver forces. MEADS will also provide greater firepower with less manpower than current systems, producing dramatic operation and support cost savings.
In Germany
the PAC-3 missile will also be supplemented by IRIS-T SL as secondary missile for ground-based medium range air defence. It is based on the very successful IRIS-T
air-to-air missile. The shorter range IRIS-T SLS system uses unmodified IRIS-T air-to-air missiles launched from standard LAU-7 aircraft launchers four of which are mounted onto an all-terrain launch vehicle while the medium-range IRIS-T SL missile is equipped with an enlarged rocket motor, datalink and a jettisonable drag-reducing nosecone.
MEADS International is a multinational joint venture headquartered in Orlando, FL. Its participating companies are MBDA
Italia, Lenkflugkörpersysteme (LFK
) in Germany and Lockheed Martin
in the United States. Together, these companies have formed an international engineering team in Orlando to develop systems and technologies for the MEADS program. During the MEADS Design and Development Phase, MEADS International will finalize designs for equipment and complete their integration into the 21st century air and missile defense system. The system’s six major equipment items are as follows: Multifunction Fire Control Radar
(MFCR); Surveillance Radar (SR); Battle Management, Command, Control, Communications, Computers and Intelligence (BMC4I); Certified Missile Round (PAC-3 missile and canister); Launcher; and Reloader. The United States funds approximately 58 percent of the MEADS program and European partners Germany and Italy provide approximately 25 percent and 17 percent respectively.
In May 2005, MEADS International (MI) signed a definitized contract valued at $2 billion plus €1.4 billion for MEADS design and development. In December 2007, the NATO MEADS Management Agency awarded a $66 million contract to incorporate the Lockheed Martin PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement (MSE) Missile as the baseline interceptor for the tri-national program. The new interceptor increases the system’s range and lethality over the baseline PAC-3 Missile, which was selected as the primary missile for MEADS when the design and development program began.
Also in December 2007, the MEADS program completed its System Preliminary Design Review (PDR), a major progress milestone for the tri-national program. System Critical Design Review (CDR) is scheduled for 2010, leading to initial MEADS flight tests in 2011.
In early 2011, it was announced that Germany will only fund the system up to development, following a similar announcement from the United States. It is not yet determined if funding for procurement will follow.
MIM-104 Patriot
The MIM-104 Patriot is a surface-to-air missile system, the primary of its kind used by the United States Army and several allied nations. It is manufactured by the Raytheon Company of the United States. The Patriot System replaced the Nike Hercules system as the U.S. Army's primary High to Medium...
missile
Missile
Though a missile may be any thrown or launched object, it colloquially almost always refers to a self-propelled guided weapon system.-Etymology:The word missile comes from the Latin verb mittere, meaning "to send"...
system through a NATO-managed development. The USA, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
are contributing toward the project. France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, though initially in the project, withdrew some time ago.
Description
Under development by Germany, Italy and the United States, MEADS is a mobile air defense system designed to replace Patriot systems in the United States and Germany and Nike HerculesNike-Hercules Missile
The MIM-14 Nike-Hercules , was a solid fuel propelled two-stage surface-to-air missile, used by US and NATO armed forces for high- and medium-altitude air defense...
systems in Italy. It also meets the requirements of Germany’s “capabilities oriented” air defense concept. MEADS incorporates the Lockheed Martin hit-to-kill PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement (MSE) missile in a system including all-round surveillance and fire control sensors, netted-distributed battle management/communication centers and the launchers themselves. The system is designed to protect maneuvering forces and fixed locations against tactical ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles and aircraft
Aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...
.
In Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
the PAC-3 missile will also be supplemented by IRIS-T SL as secondary missile for ground-based medium range air defence. It is based on the very successful IRIS-T
IRIS-T
The IRIS-T is a German-led program to develop a short-range air-to-air missile to replace the venerable AIM-9 Sidewinder found in some of the NATO member countries...
air-to-air missile. The shorter range IRIS-T SLS system uses unmodified IRIS-T air-to-air missiles launched from standard LAU-7 aircraft launchers four of which are mounted onto an all-terrain launch vehicle while the medium-range IRIS-T SL missile is equipped with an enlarged rocket motor, datalink and a jettisonable drag-reducing nosecone.
MEADS International is a multinational joint venture headquartered in Orlando, FL. Its participating companies are MBDA
MBDA
MBDA is a missile developer and manufacturer with operations in France, Britain, Germany, Italy, and the United States. It was formed by a merger of Aérospatiale-Matra Missiles , Finmeccanica and Matra BAe Dynamics in December 2001. In 2003 the company had 10,000 employees...
Italia, Lenkflugkörpersysteme (LFK
LFK
LFK is a German missile systems company and a subsidiary of EADS. Today officially "MBDA Germany" but better known as LFK-Lenkflugkörpersysteme GmbH...
) in Germany and Lockheed Martin
Lockheed Martin
Lockheed Martin is an American global aerospace, defense, security, and advanced technology company with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. It is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, in the Washington Metropolitan Area....
in the United States. Together, these companies have formed an international engineering team in Orlando to develop systems and technologies for the MEADS program. During the MEADS Design and Development Phase, MEADS International will finalize designs for equipment and complete their integration into the 21st century air and missile defense system. The system’s six major equipment items are as follows: Multifunction Fire Control Radar
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
(MFCR); Surveillance Radar (SR); Battle Management, Command, Control, Communications, Computers and Intelligence (BMC4I); Certified Missile Round (PAC-3 missile and canister); Launcher; and Reloader. The United States funds approximately 58 percent of the MEADS program and European partners Germany and Italy provide approximately 25 percent and 17 percent respectively.
Also in December 2007, the MEADS program completed its System Preliminary Design Review (PDR), a major progress milestone for the tri-national program. System Critical Design Review (CDR) is scheduled for 2010, leading to initial MEADS flight tests in 2011.
In early 2011, it was announced that Germany will only fund the system up to development, following a similar announcement from the United States. It is not yet determined if funding for procurement will follow.
See also
- LFK NGLFK NGLFK NG from Lenkflugkörper Neue Generation , is currently under development by LFK-Lenkflugkörpersysteme and Diehl BGT Defence as the new short-range surface-to-air missile system for the German Army as a replacement for its former Roland air defence systems and as a part of the army's new SysFla...
- the new air defence missile of the German ArmyGerman ArmyThe German Army is the land component of the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. Following the disbanding of the Wehrmacht after World War II, it was re-established in 1955 as the Bundesheer, part of the newly formed West German Bundeswehr along with the Navy and the Air Force... - MANTISNächstbereichschutzsystem MANTISNächstbereichschutzsystem MANTIS , formerly titled as NBS-C-RAM , is the latest very short-range protection system of the German Army intended for base-protection, particularly in Afghanistan, produced by Rheinmetall Air Defence Nächstbereichschutzsystem MANTIS (Modular, Automatic and Network...
- the very short-range protection system of the German ArmyGerman ArmyThe German Army is the land component of the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. Following the disbanding of the Wehrmacht after World War II, it was re-established in 1955 as the Bundesheer, part of the newly formed West German Bundeswehr along with the Navy and the Air Force...
within the "SysFla" program. - NASAMSNASAMSNASAMS is a distributed and networked medium to long range air-defence system. NASAMS was the first surface-based application for the AIM-120 AMRAAM and the first surface-to-air missile system in the western world with active radar guidance...
- air defence system using the AIM-120 AMRAAM, developed by Norway.
External links
- Lockheed Martin MEADS Website
- MEADS International, Inc. - 'Official website'
- Some further details on the project
- IRIS-T SL/SLS - further information on the IRIS-T SL/SLS missile by German manufacturer Diehl BGT.
- http://www.swp-berlin.org/en/common/get_document.php?asset_id=2011 (Sascha Lange:“Partial Capability Loss through MEADS”. SWP Comments, German Institute for International and Security Affairs of the Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP), March 2005.)