Last week the German Federal Ministry of Defense announced that it had selected the medium extended air defense system (MEADS) to form the basis of its Taktisches Luftverteidigungssystem (TLVS) tactical air defense system that will replace the current Patriot-based defenses by 2025.

MEADS is being developed by Lockheed Martin and MBDA, the latter’s German division being the lead system developer for the TLVS requirement. MBDA Italia is also involved in the MEADS program, which in 2013 demonstrated its 360-degree ability by simultaneously engaging two targets approaching from opposite directions.