Six house members have written to the House Appropriations Committee panel on Defense urging full funding in the FY ’13 budget for the Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS).
The budget request of $400.9 million would be the “final U.S. financial obligation to the MEADS program under the 2004 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), and the MEADS development program will conclude in 2013 within the budget and cost ceilings agreed to in 2004 without any additional funding,” members wrote.
The letter pointed out that the tri-national U.S., German and Italian program has resulted in software and hardware providing “360 degree coverage and up to eight times the defensed area as the decades-old 90-degree sectored Patriot system, meaning fewer systems and fewer soldiers are required.”
Members also wrote that reliability will be improved and maintenance reduced through modern prognostics and diagnostics.
“Cost models show operations and sustainment savings of $40 billion over the next three decades if 32 MEADS batteries replaced the 60 Patriot systems,” the letter said.
Additionally, the members said full funding would allow completion of the Proof of Concept, which would let the Army harvest promising technologies while giving Germany and Italy needed air and missile defense options.
Additionally, the end items are built and have entered the Proof of Concept test program. In November, a successful flight test was carried out, the letter said. Completing the Proof of Concept program would provide technical data and allow the service to prove out new “air defense concepts and technologies,” according to a previous vice chief of staff.
Completing the effort would also allow Germany and Italy to improve their military capabilities in a way that would add value to overall NATO missile defense, the U.S. European Commander has said. Both governments have repeatedly stated their strong commitment to completing the program.
The April 20 letter to Rep. Bill Young (R-Fla.) also points out that the Defense Department said in its Statement of Administration Policy on FY ’12 defense legislation a failure by the United States to meet the obligation would lead to a unilateral termination that “would likely exceed” the cost of satisfying DoD’s MoU commitment.
The letter was signed by Reps. Mo Brooks, (R-Ala.); Martha Roby (R Ala.); Robert Aderholt (R-Ala.); Trent Franks (R-Ariz.); Spencer Bachus (R- Ala.); and Mike Rogers (R- Ala.).