The Chief of Staff,
Washington, DC, July 28, 1995.
Memorandum for Under Secretary of Defense (Acquisition and Technology).
Subject: Army Position for Corps Surface-to-Air Missile (Corps SAM)/Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS).
1. The Army fully supports the current proposed Corps SAM/MEADS program. We need to proceed as rapidly as possible with the Corps SAM program under any circumstances. The Army and the Marine Corps have a compelling need for the only system that can provide air and missile defense for maneuver forces as well as serve as an effective lower tier Theater Missile Defense (TMD) system under the Theater High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) umbrella.
2. We have reviewed the current status of the Corps SAM/MEADS program with respect to the ongoing debate in Congress and the mid and long-term funding of DoD's TMD programs. We believe that the potential development cost savings and the prospects of allied interoperability and operational burden sharing in TMD fully justify pursuing the Project Definition--Validation phase of MEADS. The initial phase will define the program in terms of costs and other benefits to the participating nations and allow for an informed decision by all the countries involved regarding continuation of a cooperative program. The Army has the mechanisms in place to adequately address Congressional concerns with respect to leveraging current TMD and cruise missile defense programs while protecting our interests with respect to technology transfer. The industry proposals currently being evaluated reflect a high degree of leveraging of other programs and will serve as a sound foundation for entering into the MEADS program. We will provide full support to insure that MEADS is begun expeditiously and in a manner that protects the best interests of the United States. If efforts at a cooperative program are unsuccessful, the Request For Proposal (RFP) allows for a transition back to a U.S. only program.
3. I appreciate your continued support of this critical program for our warfighters.
Dennis J. Reimer,
General, U.S. Army,
Chief of Staff.