Lockheed Martin delivers communications subsystem for Medium Extended Air Defense System

Posted by Courtney E. Howard

ORLANDO, Fla., 16 June 2011. Lockheed Martin has delivered the MEADS Internal Communications Subsystem (MICS) Message Routing Subsystem, the first intra-fire unit communications kit qualified for use with the tri-national Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS), to support MEADS launcher integration, test, and qualification. MICS enables secure tactical communications between MEADS sensors, launchers, and tactical operations centers across a high-speed internet protocol network, enabling MEADS elements to be tactically positioned for maximum lethality and survivability, while maintaining clear, rapid, and efficient communication.

MICS, called “plug-and-fight” technology for streamlined data exchange, boasts a self-forming network that eliminates the need for a fixed network infrastructure and permits MEADS major end items to enter and exit the network without operator intervention.

"This delivery provides an unprecedented capability for the battlefield," says Rich Russell, director of Sensors, Data Links, and Advanced Programs at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. "The MICS Message Routing Subsystem will increase combat readiness with reliable high-speed, secure data communications and interconnectivity for combat operations."

Lockheed Martin has demonstrated the ability to provide Internet Protocol (IP)-based communications between widely dispersed sensors, launchers, and tactical operations centers, reveals a company representative. This information-sharing capability is expected to play a significant role in future integrated air defense operations; further, ground units with MICS technology can exchange command, control, and status data over a secure network to maintain situational awareness and combat superiority.

MEADS provides greater firepower with less manpower than current systems, producing dramatic operation and support cost savings, says the representative. MEADS International, a multinational joint venture headquartered in Orlando, Fla., is the prime contractor. Major subcontractors and joint venture partners are MBDA in Italy, LFK in Germany, and Lockheed Martin in the U.S.