Earlier on Friday, the German Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper reported that the ministry had already decided to purchase the MEADS systems, manufactured by US technology company Lockheed Martin in cooperation with German and Italian producers.
“Representatives of the ministry are currently discussing this, including with manufacturers. A decision will be made by the end of the second quarter,” the spokesperson told RIA Novosti.
The value of the potential agreement is estimated to be 4 billion euro ($4.5 billion), making it one of the most costly purchases made by the German Defense Ministry in recent years.
The MEADS deal, if sealed, will replace current Patriot equipment, which was developed in the 1980s. The ministry’s decision on the missile defense system is widely tipped to become one of the key steps of the current German government.
The NATO-managed MEADS project was launched in the mid-1990s to replace the Patriot system in the United States and Germany, and the Nike Hercules system in Italy. However, in 2011, the Pentagon acknowledged that the program had failed to meet “schedule and cost targets” and refused to purchase the system for the US army. Germany also stated in 2011 that it would not buy MEADS in the foreseeable future, having already invested around 1 billion euro in the project.
