Medium Extended Air Defense System

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The Medium Extended Air Defense System ( MEADS ) is a ground-based, fully articulated anti-aircraft missile system against targets from very deep to very high flight areas and is currently under development. MEADS is to replace the air defense systems Roland , Hawk and partially Patriot .

Involved

Originally four nations were involved in MEADS: United States , Germany , France and Italy . It is currently the only transatlantic armaments project with German participation. However, France canceled its participation in the project early in order to develop the SAMP / T air defense system.

The companies Lockheed Martin (United States), MBDA Germany and MBDA Italy are all involved in MEADS International Inc. , based in Orlando (Florida) . The joint venture group is commissioned by the NATO MEADS Management Agency (NAMEADSMA) from Huntsville (Alabama) .

history

On April 20, 2005, the budget committee of the Bundestag decided with the votes of the SPD , the Greens and the Union to participate in the development of the missile defense system. 55% of the funding for the development phase will be provided by the United States, 28% by Germany and 17% by Italy. For Germany, the project began in 2001 with the approval of the federal government for the RRE phase (Risk Reduction Effort, German: risk minimization). With the conclusion of the development contract in 2005, Germany is bound to a financing contribution of 855 million euros. According to the Federal Government, the estimates of the total system costs amounted to 3.84 billion euros in 2005 and at least 10 billion euros according to estimates by the Hessian Foundation for Peace and Conflict Research.

Due to the complexity of the development and the disagreement between the partner nations, delays occurred in the course of the development project in 2008. The partners determined that the program objectives can be achieved, but not within the given time and budget. The development contract should therefore be amended in 2011.

With the completion of the so-called Critical Design Review in August 2010, the necessary technical development maturity was formally confirmed and the design was determined. Since the end of 2010, prototypes of launch devices, tactical operation stations (TOC) and multifunction / fire control radars have been completed by the industry involved and handed over to the general contractor MEADS International.

On February 12, 2011, the United States announced that it would not provide any additional budget for the development of MEADS; the tri-national development is to be completed in 2014 as a “ proof of concept ” within the originally agreed budget and time frame .

On February 16, 2011 it was announced that MEADS will not be procured by the German Armed Forces in the foreseeable future. The decision of the federal government became known through a letter from the then Secretary of State for Defense Walther Otremba . The letter was addressed to the defense and budget committees of the German Bundestag.

Due to the US decision of February 12, 2011, the development goals have meanwhile been reformulated by the partners. While maintaining the time and budget set in 2005, the development is to be completed in early 2014 as a “demonstration of capabilities” with various “integration, flight and ground tests”.

The integration tests for the individual system components have been carried out at the Italian military airfield Pratica di Mare since mid-2011. At the same time, the shooting tests including the necessary preparatory and follow-up preparations are taking place in the US White Sands Missile Range (WSMR).

On November 17, 2011, the first MEADS test shot took place as the “Launcher Missile Characterization Test”. For the first time, the interaction of the tactical operation center, launch device and the newly developed PAC-3 MSE guided missile was successfully demonstrated in a program shot.

On November 29, 2012, a MEADS missile intercepted a drone during its “First Target Intercept Test”, the first practical test, with an approach speed of almost 1000 km / h.

Until the next test shots, extensive further system and integration tests should be carried out in both PdM and WSMR.

On November 6, 2013, it was possible for the first time in the world to detect, track and destroy two objects approaching from different directions at the same time.

In July 2014, MEADS demonstrated extensive network capabilities. The two-week tests included key contractually agreed performance records, which were carried out for the first time with a ground-based missile defense system. During the system demonstration, it was demonstrated, among other things, that MEADS can add, control and remove internal and external radars and launch devices flexibly and without interrupting operations. According to the manufacturer, this MEADS network capability should be unique.

In the course of the realignment of the Bundeswehr , it became known in October 2011 that the Ministry of Defense would not introduce MEADS at all. However, Germany intends to use the MEADS development results as a technical basis for a next-generation air defense system (Air Defense Association 2020) in order to have them available for possible German contributions to NATO's strategic missile defense, among other things.

In the course of the crisis in Ukraine in 2014 , the SPD defense expert Rainer Arnold demanded in a position paper on April 11, 2014 "to secure air defense as a special German priority capability and to make MEADS sustainable [...]" using the development results. A positive decision was finally made in June 2015 that MEADS will become the successor system to the German Armed Forces as part of the tactical air defense system (TLVS) from around 2025.

On June 9, 2015, Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen and Inspector General Volker Wieker announced in Berlin that the future Tactical Air Defense System (TLVS) of the German Armed Forces should be based on the MEADS (Medium Extended Air Defense System) air defense system. TLVS / MEADS will replace the outdated PATRIOT air defense systems. MEADS prevailed in the competition against a still to be developed PATRIOT system from the US company Raytheon. This was justified with the special, already tested MEADS capabilities such as 360-degree coverage, mobility and the open system architecture, which simplifies the integration of further sensors and guided missiles. In addition, the national German sovereignty over the technology was obviously decisive. In addition, the operating costs of MEADS should be “significantly lower”.

MEADS is to be developed by the companies MBDA Germany, MBDA Italy and the US manufacturer Lockheed Martin.

technology

PAC-3 missile
MEADS system from the defense company MBDA at the ILA in Berlin 2012
BGT IRIS-T SL rocket launch container ( VLS )
Ranges of the different air defense systems

MEADS is intended to offer the ground troops protection against future airborne threats during missions abroad, which airborne systems cannot, or can only with difficulty, identify and combat. Depending on the national version, the weapon system can be relocated using transport aircraft of the type A400M or C-130 or as an external load from helicopters of the type CH-53 or CH-47 .

The individual components of the system are mounted on trucks to ensure off-road mobility. The modular architecture of the system has so-called “plug-and-fight” properties, so new starting devices, command posts or radars can be integrated into the system network. The individual components are networked with radio or fiber optic cables, so a missile launcher does not have to have a direct connection to the Tactical Operations Center (TOC) . A connection to another system component such as B. Starter device, which is connected to the TOC, is sufficient. This increases redundancy and installation flexibility.

Compared to the PATRIOT system, MEADS has a different system philosophy: Instead of a radar (AN / MPQ-53) for searching and guiding weapons, MEADS uses a separate search radar in addition to the multifunctional fire control radar.

MEADS consists of the following subsystems:

Surveillance Radar (SR)

The Surveillance Radar is a modern search radar with active electronic beam swiveling , which is rotatably mounted on a truck in order to enable the detection of targets within a radius of 360 °. The radar is optimized to locate future threats from the air, which are difficult or impossible to detect by airborne systems. These include:

Since many of these systems have only a small radar return area and a high location range is desired, the search radar uses unusually low frequencies in the UHF band with less than one gigahertz. These frequencies are only slightly attenuated by weather phenomena and thus enable a large range. Further advantages are that aircraft with stealth technology are optimized for higher-frequency radars in the D, E, F and X bands. According to NATO officials, an S-125 Neva battery was able to shoot down a Lockheed F-117 in the Kosovo war with the help of low-frequency radar . The searchers of anti-radar missiles such as AGM-88 HARM or Ch-31 are also optimized for these frequency bands. A viewfinder in the UHF band would have to be much larger in order to achieve the same angular resolution, which is difficult to achieve due to the limited size.

Multifunction Fire Control Radar (MFCR)

The multifunction and fire control radar works in the I and J band (formerly the X band), allows targets to be captured and tracked within a radius of 360 ° and is also rotatable on a truck. The Phased Array Radar of the MFCR steers guided missiles (LFK) of the PAC-3 MSE type towards the target, from where the own LFK seekers can lock onto the target.

In September 2014, the MFCR on the MBDA test site in Hohenwart - Freinhausen (former base of the anti-aircraft missile battalion 34) went into operation for the first time in Germany.

Tactical Operations Center (TOC)

The operations center is the heart of the MEADS and uses the command post software BMC4I (Battle Management, Command, Control, Communications and Computers, Intelligence). This is where the information from own or allied sensors ( e.g. AWACS ) is evaluated and the fire fight is conducted. In addition, the deployment planning takes place here.

Guided missile starters

The guided missiles are mounted on a truck as a mobile launch device . Each of these trucks has a system frame for holding eight palletized PAC-3-MSE guided missiles (LFK). The start command is sent from the TOC to the starting device, whereupon the LFK is fired almost vertically. After the start, the LFK is steered by the MFCR to the destination until the destination can be locked with its own K ”£‹ a band viewfinder. The K a band (26.5 to 40 GHz) offers a true low range, good resolution, which enables secure hitting targets with small radar cross section.

The Federal Republic of Germany plans to integrate the IRIS-T SL as a second missile as a more economical guided missile in the MEADS system. This can be used primarily to combat fixed wing aircraft and helicopters. The range of the guided missile will be around 30 km, on the final approach an imaging infrared seeker will lock onto the target and guide the weapon to the target. The weapon is manufactured by Diehl BGT Defense . With the integration of the IRIS-T missile into the MEADS air defense system, the plug & fight capability of this system and thus future security could also be proven.

Reloading vehicle

The reloading vehicles supply the starting devices with new ammunition after a fire . Due to the palletized design of the starting device and ammunition, the reloading process is largely automated and therefore significantly faster and less labor-intensive.

Possible use

The smallest operational MEADS unit is called the Minimum Engagement Capability (MEC) and consists of:

  • 1 × tactical headquarters (Tactical Operations Center; TOC)
  • 1 × multifunction and fire control radar (MFCR)
  • 2 × guided missile starters

A full fire unit consists of:

  • 1 × Tactical Command Post (TOC)
  • 1 × Surveillance Radar (SR)
  • 2 × multifunction and fire control radar (MFCR)
  • 6 × guided missile starters
  • 3 × reloading vehicles

Since the MEADS is Plug and Fight capable, both the MEC and the full fire unit can be expanded as required; with guided missile starters, radars, command posts, etc.

criticism

It is criticized that the MEADS development is only being accompanied by one branch of the armed forces, the air force , and that naval acquisitions have not been taken into account. So France decided on the Paams , which is also used by the Navy. It was also criticized that MEADS can only be installed on the German vehicle with the A400M , but not with the C-130 .

There is particular criticism of the PAC-3 MSE effector. Since the guided missile is one of the most important components of the overall system, it is a clear disadvantage that it is a so-called black box, the exact capabilities and weak points of which are only known to the United States. In addition, the price of the PAC-3 MSE was criticized. With a unit price of around 3.7 million euros, the PAC-3 MSE is even more expensive than the currently used Effector from Patriot (unit price around 2.7 million euros) and significantly more expensive than the guided missile IRIS-T (around 0.4 million euros Euros) of the German air defense system IRIS-T SLM .

The Federal Audit Office also complained that the adaptation of the IRIS-T  SL for the MEADS system was originally supposed to reach the Bundestag at a much later date. According to the expert opinion of March 1, 2005, it was rather "possible and necessary" to present both drafts at the same time in parliament for a decision in order to enable the integration of a cheaper second missile in addition to the PAC-3 MSE in MEADS. The Federal Audit Office later praised the fact that IRIS-T had stayed on time and on budget. Diehl Defense has meanwhile developed the German air defense system IRIS-T SLM from the IRIS-T , which is already being procured by Sweden. In the course of the evaluation for the renewal of the Swiss air defense ( BODLUV 2020 ) it became known that the system does not have the required range. The Federal Council immediately stopped the evaluation of the Medium Extended Air Defense System and the air defense system IRIS-T SLM .

Web links

Commons : Medium Extended Air Defense System  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS) Fact Sheet. (PDF; 104 kB) In: acq.osd.mil. Office of the Secretary of Defense, accessed June 9, 2015 .
  2. ↑ Meads armaments project is buried. In: tagesschau.de. February 19, 2011, archived from the original on February 19, 2011 ; Retrieved June 9, 2015 .
  3. ↑ MEADS Conducts Successful First Flight Test At White Sands Missile Range. In: lockheedmartin.com. Lockheed Martin Corporation , November 17, 2011, accessed June 9, 2015 .
  4. ↑ Gerhard Hegmann: And Meads still meets ( Memento from December 4, 2012 in the Internet Archive ), ftd.de , December 2, 2012, accessed on December 3, 2012.
  5. ↑ MEADS Flight Test # 1 - First Target Intercept . ( Memento of the original from September 26, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: MEADS International Inc. , November 29, 2012, accessed December 3, 2012. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / meads-amd.com
  6. ↑ Comprehensive MEADS network tests demonstrate unmatched plug-and-fight missile defense capabilities . In: mbda-systems.com , July 25, 2014, accessed June 8, 2015 (English).
  7. ^ Minister de Maizière approves conversion . In: BMVg.de , accessed on December 6, 2011.
  8. ↑ See answer to question 88 of the Federal Government's answer to the SPD's major question on the subject of further developing German nuclear disarmament policy. Strengthening and further developing Germany's role in non-proliferation . In: atomwaffenfrei.de (PDF; 208 kB).
  9. ^ Rainer Arnold: Social democratic ideas about the need to readjust the Bundeswehr reform . In: rainer-arnold.de , April 11, 2014, accessed on April 15, 2014 (PDF, 123 kB, p. 6).
  10. ^ Bundeswehr austerity course before the end . In: derwesten.de , April 12, 2014, accessed on April 15, 2014.
  11. ↑ New air defense for the Bundeswehr 180 . In: ntv.de , accessed on June 9, 2015.
  12. ↑ European technology and security 11/2014 Air defense in transition .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: esut.de , November 1, 2014, accessed on January 25, 2015 (PDF).@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.esut.de  
  13. ↑ Decision in favor of a missile defense system - MEADS is to replace Patriot . In: tagesschau.de , June 8, 2015, accessed June 8, 2015.
  14. ^ "New approach": Starting shot for MEADS armaments projects and multi-purpose combat ship. In: BMVg.de , June 9, 2015, accessed October 1, 2015.
  15. ↑ FlaRak ( Memento of the original from October 22, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . In: forum-sicherheitsppolitik.org , accessed on June 8, 2015. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.forum-sicherheitspektiven.org
  16. ↑ Defense economy online service, edition 15/2014.
  17. ↑ a b Joakim Kasper Oestergaard: PAC-3 / MSE Missile. (No longer available online.) In: bga-aeroweb.com. Barr Group Aerospace AeroWeb, June 10, 2014, archived from the original on August 24, 2015 ; accessed on June 8, 2015 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.bga-aeroweb.com
  18. ↑ Diehl Defense delivered the 4,000th IRIS-T missile . In: bundeswehr-journal.de , September 10, 2014, accessed on June 8, 2015.
  19. ↑ Bernd W. Kubbig: MEADS missile defense system: Decision made, many questions unanswered. Hessische Stiftung Friedens- und Kulturforschung, October 2005, p. 11 , accessed on April 15, 2010 .
  20. ↑ Eurofighter - First missile. In: Der Spiegel 49/2005. Spiegel Online , December 5, 2005, accessed June 8, 2015 .
  21. ↑ Test shot in Overberg - Diehl presents the IRIS-T SLM air defense system . In: Flugrevue.de , January 23, 2015, accessed on June 8, 2015.
  22. ↑ http://www.tagesanzeiger.ch/schweiz/standard/Der-ParmelinEffekt/story/22912130