Germany, Italy protest US axing of missile defence funds

A sign reading ‘German rockets out of Kurdistan’ is pictured during a rally yesterday against the 49th Munich Security Conference in the inner city of Munich, Germany. The conference opened on Friday and closes today.

Reuters/Munich

Germany and Italy have told the US they expect it to fulfil its obligations after the US Congress blocked funding for a missile defence programme involving the three countries, Germany said yesterday.
A defence bill passed by Congress in December prohibited a final US payment of $400.9mn for development of the Medium Extended Air and Missile Defence System, known as MEADS, which is being developed by Lockheed Martin with partners in Italy and Germany.
US lawmakers said Washington has no plans to produce the system.
The US, Italy and Germany have spent about $4bn to develop MEADS over the past decade as a successor to the Patriot missile defence system.
“I expect the US to stick to their word and fulfil the MEADS contract,” German Defence Minister Thomas de Maiziere told reporters at the Munich security conference.
He said that, together with the Italian defence minister, he had sent a “pretty tough” letter to US authorities driving this point home.
United States Defence Secretary Leon Panetta was doing all he could to ensure the US fulfilled its commitments, de Maiziere said, although he acknowledged that the chances of the US fulfilling the agreement had deteriorated.
Congress defied President Barack Obama’s administration by axing funding for the programme in a $633bn bill authorising funding for the US military in fiscal year 2013.
The White House raised concerns about the bill before its approval, warning that a ban on MEADS funding could harm Washington’s broader relationship with its allies.
Lockheed, the Pentagon and officials in Italy and Germany hope that congressional appropriators, who control the actual funding for arms programmes, will still allow the Pentagon to fulfil its final funding obligations for the programme.
Otherwise, they argue, the US government may face termination fees nearly equal to the money required to finish the system, and could lose access to the technologies developed under the international programme.
The Lockheed Martin-led consortium continues to work towards a fourth quarter 2013 flight test to prove the MEADS missile defence system can intercept a ballistic missile.