MEADS boosting system performance

ORLANDO, Fla., Jan. 16 (UPI) -- NATO's Medium Extended Air Defense System will have 360-degree surveillance and fire control sensors.

Lockheed Martin said in a statement Wednesday that MEADS Management Agency had signed a contract to include LM's new Patriot PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement.

The MEADS system "includes 360-degree surveillance and fire control sensors, netted-distributed battle management/communication centers and high-firepower launchers. The system will combine superior battlefield protection with extensive flexibility, allowing it to protect forces and to provide selected critical assets for homeland defense against tactical ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles and aircraft," Lockheed Martin said.

"When completed, MEADS will be the only air and missile defense system able to roll off tactical transports with the troops and begin operations almost immediately. 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 is intended to provide significant operation and support cost savings," Lockheed Martin said.

"A multinational joint venture headquartered in Orlando, FL, MEADS International's participating companies are MBDA in Italy, LFK in Germany and Lockheed Martin in the United States. Together, these companies have focused an international engineering team in Orlando to develop systems and technologies for the MEADS program, which is closely watched as a model for collaborative transatlantic development. The United States funds 58 percent of the MEADS program, and European partners Germany and Italy provide 25 percent and 17 percent respectively," Lockheed Martin said.

"With minor modifications for integration with the MEADS system, the PAC-3 MSE Missile is designed to provide excellent defense against the MEADS threat spectrum of tactical ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and aircraft armed with assorted threat warheads/munitions," Lockheed Martin said.

"Changing the baseline interceptor during our Preliminary Design Review keeps risk to a minimum and keeps us on track to provide the three nations with the 21st century air and missile defense system they have requested," said MEADS International Technical Director Claudio Ponzi.