The Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS)

The Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS) is a tri-national missile defense project of the United States, Germany, and Italy. MEADS is currently in the design and development phase, but once operational, it will use the new Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) Missile Segment Enhancement missiles to protect ground forces and fixed military positions against attack from tactical ballistic missiles, low and high altitude cruise missiles, aircraft, and unmanned aerial vehicles.
 As a mobile land-based surface-to-air missile system, MEADS will bridge the gap between smaller portable surface-to-air systems like the Stinger missile and the higher levels of the Missile Defense Agency’s Ballistic Missile Defense System, such as the Terminal High Altitude Defense System (THAAD).

Unlike the old Patriot system, MEADS will provide 360-degree coverage and will roll directly off transport vehicles into combat situations. The project began in the late 1980s and early 1990s when the U.S. Army and Marine Corps created the Corps SAM program to replace the Hawk Air Defense System that had been in service since the 1960s. In 1995, Corps SAM was renamed MEADS and became a multinational partnership. Participating companies are Lockheed Martin (U.S) and MBDA (Italy and Germany). Funding is also collaborative: the U.S. pays 58 percent, Germany pays 25 percent, and Italy pays 17 percent.

In September 2004, MEADS International (MI) received a 9-year $3.4 billion Design and Development letter contract to  design and develop MEADS. The contract award followed a series of successful system demonstrations and signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the United States and Italy. Germany signed the agreement following parliamentary action in April 2005.

The system’s six major equipment items are: Multifunction Fire Control Radar; Surveillance Radar; Battle Management, Command, Control, Communications, Computers, and Intelligence (BMC4I) Tactical Operations Center; Certified Missile Round (PAC-3 Missile and canister); Launcher; and Reloader.

Once an incoming missile has been detected, the radar will produce detailed tracking reports, and the BMC4I will send its launch commands to the multi-canister mobile launchers. Each launcher will be capable of holding multiple PAC-3 MSE interceptors, and will be mounted on a wheeled vehicle. The Army will be able to roll the system elements on and off C-130 and A400M transport aircraft for rapid deployment. In the combat zone, the mobile radars and launchers will keep pace with fast moving ground forces. To reduce the risk of detection, the Army will be able to place the launchers far away from radar and BMC4I units.

The MFCR is an X-band, solid-state, phased array radar using element-level transmit/
receive modules. It provides precision tracking and wideband discrimination and classification capabilities. For extremely rapid deployments, the MEADS MFCR can provide both surveillance and fire control capabilities until a surveillance radar joins the network. The MFCR uses its main beam for uplink and downlink missile communications. An advanced Mode 5 identify friend-or- foe subsystem supports improved threat identification and typing. Through its plug-and-fight capability, the sensors and launchers simply acts as nodes on the MEADS network. The MEADS Tactical Operations Center lets a commander dynamically add or subtract sensors and shooters as the situation dictates without shutting the system down.

Once launched, the PAC-3 MSE will streak toward its target, receiving initial guidance from the X-band multi-function fire control radar. As the interceptor closes in on the target, the missile’s active seeker recalculates the trajectory and makes adjustments to the its speed and direction. The missile will collide with the incoming missile (like a bullet hitting a bullet), causing complete destruction of the warhead, including any nuclear, chemical, or biological agents.

In late 2003, MEADS successfully demonstrated its ability to detect, track, and destroy simulated aircraft and missile targets in a test at Lockheed Martin’s facilities in Syracuse, New York. In March 2004, two PAC-3 missiles destroyed a large target missile at the U.S. Army’s White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. The target missile had been modified to represent a short-range tactical ballistic missile and programmed to simulate the flight patterns of a Scud missile. 

In September 2004, MEADS International (MI) received a 9-year $3.4 billion Design and Development letter contract to design and develop MEADS. The contract award followed a series of successful system demonstrations and signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the United States and Italy. Germany signed the agreement following parliamentary action in April 2005. Germany and Italy have expressed concern about proposed cuts to their work share, limitations to their role in testing, and restrictions on technology sharing. 

The U.S., however, maintains that MEADS is an essential part of its missile defense architecture. In a March 2004 letter, the Pentagon stressed the importance of a “fair and balanced” missile defense program between the three allies. MEADS remains on schedule for initial deployment in 2014. 

In November 2012, the MEADS system detected, tracked, intercepted and destroyed an air- breathing target in an intercept flight test at White Sands Missile Range, N.M. The test achieved all criteria for success. The MEADS test configuration included a networked MEADS battle manager, lightweight launcher firing a PAC-3 MSE Certified Missile Round, and a 360-degree MEADS Multifunction Fire Control Radar (MFCR), which tracked the MQM-107 target and guided the missile to a successful intercept.

The test exploited the MEADS capability for full-perimeter, 360-degree defense with the PAC- 3 MSE Missile performing a unique over-the-shoulder maneuver to defeat the target attacking from behind the MEADS emplacement. Using its 360-degree defensive capability, MEADS can defend up to eight times the coverage area with far fewer system assets. Its significantly reduced demand for deployed personnel and equipment reduces demand for airlift.

The program is continuing to work toward a fourth quarter 2013 flight test to prove its MEADS missile defense system can intercept a ballistic missile, although some U.S. lawmakers have sought to cut off funding for the three-nation program.

Source