MEADS Demo

The Medium Extended Air Defense System recently completed a system demonstration at an Italian air base near Rome, contractor Lockheed Martin announced today.

"The two-week test demonstration included significant first-time events that were observed by several national delegations," the statement reads, adding:

The tests, including operational demonstrations run by German and Italian military personnel, were designed to seamlessly add and subtract system elements under representative combat conditions, and to blend MEADS with other systems in a larger system architecture:

* Using plug-and-fight (the military equivalent of plug-and-play that enables automatic integration of disparate system elements into a single super-system), MEADS demonstrated its ability to rapidly attach and control an external Italian deployable air defense radar. As a fully integrated asset in the MEADS network, the radar tracked air objects and supplied a common integrated air picture of the area around Pratica di Mare. MEADS operators were able to rapidly recognize, incorporate, control, remove, reallocate and reposition launchers and sensors during engagement operations.

* Using an external sensor and track data provided via the Link 16 data-exchange network, MEADS engaged a simulated cruise missile and other threats simultaneously. This demonstrated MEADS' engage-on-remote flexibility, which allows operators to target threats at greater distances despite being masked by terrain.

* Using the MEADS netted and distributed network architecture, the system automatically selected the best launcher for target engagement and demonstrated control of engagement operations from each battle manager. This proved that by reassigning workload, MEADS can maintain defense capabilities if any system element is lost or fails.

* Interoperability with German and Italian air defense assets was demonstrated through exchange of standardized NATO messages. Key Italian air-defense assets were integrated into a test bed at an Italian national facility, while the Surface to Air Missile Operations Centre and Patriot assets were integrated into a test bed at the German Air Force Air Defense Center in Fort Bliss, Texas. MEADS further demonstrated capability to perform engagement coordination with other systems, which no fielded system is able to do.

While Italy and Germany are keen on MEADS, Poland is less so.

Poland earlier this month selected offerings from Raytheon and the Eurosam consortium of Thales and MBDA to remain in its competition for a new air and missile defense system, ousting MEADS as well as Israel's David's Sling from further consideration. As InsideDefense.com reported:

"We are disappointed, but we remain committed to not only our team, MEADS International . . . but we remain committed to our offer," Marty Coyne, Lockheed air and missile defense business development director, told Inside the Pentagon on July 9. "So should the criteria change again and allow us to compete, we really look forward to that opportunity."

Lockheed spearheads a tri-national effort between the United States, Germany and Italy to develop MEADS -- a new air and missile defense asset. The U.S. decided not procure the system but agreed to finish a two-year proof-of-concept phase with the other countries that culminated in a successful test against simultaneous threats in November.

Because of rising tensions between neighboring Ukraine and Russia, Poland decided to accelerate its competition to acquire a new air and missile defense system earlier this year. Additionally, according to an industry official who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the international competition, the country surprised the offerors earlier this month when it changed the criteria guiding its selection process.

While Poland had defined its priorities for a new system as something modern, highly-mobile and would include opportunities for Polish industry partnership in development, the country changed the criteria asking for a system that is currently operational and already fielded in the inventory of a NATO country. By virtue of the newly defined criteria, the official said, MEADS could no longer participate in the competition since it is not yet fielded by a NATO country.