There could be “unintended consequences” if the United States unilaterally withdraws from funding the proof of concept of the trilateral Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS), according to German Defense Minister Thomas de Maiziere.
In a July 9 letter to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, de Maiziere thanked him for his continuous support of the MEADS program, but said for program partners Germany and Italy, completing the proof of concept phase is an “essential basis for our future air defense as well as for the European contribution to NATO missile defense.”
Three U.S. congressional defense committees have voted to strip the final $400 million requested in fiscal year 2013 for MEADS funding. The proof of concept work culminates with a first intercept flight test this fall at White Sands Missile Range, N.M. (Defense Daily, April 23). The system had a successful flight test using a simulated target in November (Defense Daily, Apr. 3).
MEADS is an effort by the United States, Germany and Italy for an advanced, lightweight, 360-degree system to counter ballistic and cruise missiles and to replace older systems. A unilateral U.S. funding withdrawal would result in the “loss of crucial knowledge and financial damage” to all three countries, but could also “significantly delay” Europe’s contribution to NATO missile defense. Additionally, “It might furthermore have unintended consequences with regard to the confidence placed in the validity and reliability of agreements to which the U.S. is a contracting party.”
When visiting The United States in February, de Maiziere wrote, he reached a common understanding with Panetta on the program, discussed in public, after talks “held in an atmosphere of trust” (Defense Daily, Feb. 21). And, he said, as his Italian colleague said a separate letter, “we all share the conviction that this program will continue to serve as an example of fair and well balanced transatlantic cooperation within NATO.”
Confident the proof of concept phase will be successfully completed in “our mutual interest,” de Maiziere concluded his letter by saying that in regard to future bilateral and multilateral transatlantic projects and the importance of obligations under international agreements, “I am counting on your continued support also towards Congress and the Senate Appropriations Committee.”
The system work is led by prime contractor MEADS International in a multinational joint venture with major partners are MBDA in Italy, LFK in Germany and Lockheed Martin [LMT] in the United States.