Scott Nicholas
MBDA plans to establish a joint venture with Lockheed Martin to oversee a missile defense program in Germany after the country’s defense ministry voiced concerns about MBDA’s capacity to execute the project independently, Reuters reported Thursday.
Andrea Shalal writes both companies are in talks with the German defense ministry regarding their planned JV and the ministry does not expect to finalize a contract with MBDA for the Medium Extended Air Defense System prior to Germany’s September elections.
Lockheed and MBDA sought to reach a potential $4.5 billion deal with Germany in 2016 following the team’s win on a competitive acquisition process for the country’s next missile defense system in 2015.
German defense officials told lawmakers last week that more work was needed on MBDA’s proposal for the MEADS project, including the program management aspect of the work, Shalal reported.
Both parties agreed to conduct a thorough review of their joint proposal.
The U.S., Italy and Germany developed the MEADS system as a successor to the Raytheon-developed Patriot system via a tri-national investment.
