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European Coalition Awards $3.5 Billion Missile Defense Contract
Working through an international consortium, France and Italy last week awarded a $3.5 billion contract to defense firms MBDA and Thales for development and production of the SAMP/T Block 1 ballistic missile defense system, Aviation Week & Space Technology reported today (see GSN, Oct. 14). “With this system there is no longer any gap whatsoever with the U.S.,” said MBDA Chief Executive Officer Marwan Lahoud. The contract includes the delivery of 18 missile defense batteries to France and Italy. The system is anticipated for use in support of new European and NATO rapid-reaction forces (Taverna/Nativi, Aviation Week& Space Technology, Nov. 17). The U.S. Defense Department, meanwhile, might fund Germany’s portion of the Medium Extended Air Defense System for 2004, Inside the Army reported. Officials decided to merge the MEADS development — which is a cooperative effort with the United States, Germany and Italy — with the Patriot Advanced Capability 3 missile interceptor program. The countries are attempting to write a new memorandum of understanding to govern the MEADS development phase, but the German parliament will probably not fund the fiscal 2004 development without the new document in hand. If the U.S. Army covered Germany’s 2004 cost, Germany would be expected to “backfill” the money in the next fiscal year, Inside the Army reported. The recent merger made “it virtually impossible for the three governments to complete negotiations in time to meet” budget cycles, said a source. “Here we are in mid-November and there’s not a lot of time to negotiate,” the source added (Emily Hsu, Inside the Army, Nov. 17).
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