Germany Opts Meads Over Patriot Missile System In A $4.5 Billion Deal

Germany has replaced its Patriot anti-aircraft missile system by the Medium Extended Air Defense System (Meads) developed by MBDA in a $4.5 billion ($4 billion Euro) deal on Monday.

German television channel ARD reported that it (the deal) had been approved by Volker Wieker, chief of staff of the Bundeswehr, Germany's armed forces.

Germany was contemplating on whether to upgrade its missile defenses with Meads or continue with the existing Patriot system.

"The decision is, as we announced it, drop by the end of the second quarter (end of June)," a German ministry spokesperson was quoted as saying in a last month’s Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper report. "We are still talking with all manufacturers."

Germany has already invested more than a billion Euros in the development of the missile system. This would be the first major procurement decision by Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen (CDU).

The decision on Meads will mean the end of the Patriot missile system. Meads is designed to protect against attacks by aircraft and tactical ballistic missiles with a range of up to thousands of kilometers.

The system's surveillance radar is developed and built at Lockheed Martin in Salina.