Lockheed Martin has begun integration testing on the third completed Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS) battle manager at its facility in Huntsville, Ala.

Integration testing on the third battle manager will continue throughout 2012 in support of a ballistic missile intercept test planned at White Sands Missile Range in 2013. Two other battle managers are already supporting system testing at Pratica di Mare Air Force Base in Italy and Orlando, Fla.

The MEADS battle manager controls an advanced network-centric open architecture that allows any combination of sensors and launchers to be organized into a single air and missile defense battle element.

Through a capability called plug-and-fight, sensors, shooters or other battle managers act as nodes on the network. From the MEADS battle manager, a commander can add or subtract nodes as the situation dictates without shutting down the system.

MEADS International President David Berganini said, "Following the successful first MEADS flight test in November, the team continues to evolve MEADS' battle management software and the plug-and-fight network, demonstrating coverage and flexibility that other systems cannot provide, including a 360-degree defense that protects our warfighters against next-generation threats."

Using its 360-degree defensive capability, the advanced MEADS radars and PAC-3 MSE Missile, MEADS defends up to eight times the coverage area with far fewer system assets and significantly reduces demand for deployed personnel and equipment, which reduces demand for airlift.

MEADS International, a multinational joint venture headquartered in Orlando, Fla., is the prime contractor for the MEADS system. Major subcontractors and joint venture partners are MBDA in Italy and Germany, and Lockheed Martin in the United States.