MEADS Letter

Inside the Army reports this week that German defense minister Thomas de Maizière again has asked U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta to help save the Medium Extended Air Defense System from the congressional budget ax:

"With regard to future bi- and multilateral trans-Atlantic projects and the great importance of obligations under international agreements, I am counting on your continued support also toward Congress and Senate Appropriations Committee," de Maizière wrote in a July 9 letter to Panetta.

Senate appropriators have yet to mark up a fiscal year 2013 military spending bill. House appropriators, and authorizers from both chambers, have zeroed out funding for the program in their respective defense bills for the fiscal year beginning in October.

MEADS is a joint project involving the United States, Germany and Italy. The $4 billion development cost is split between the countries: 58 percent from the U.S. Defense Department, 25 percent from Germany, and 17 percent from Italy.

While the German defense chief's letter, peppered with allusions to German-American relations being on the line, takes an almost pleading tone, Panetta's options are limited. He and his top lieutenants already have asked key lawmakers to restore $400 million requested in the budget, arguing U.S. credibility in international projects would be jeopardized by walking away from the program prematurely.

We now have the letter, in both German and English. Click here to view it.