Germany & Italy push US for MEADS Funding

read more on MEADS – 

Germany and Italy have urged the US to continue funding the Medium Extended Air and Missile System (MEADS) after Washington’s announcement last year to put the investment on hold after 2013. The project, intended to replace the aging Patriot system, is co-financed by all 3 countries.

German legislator Ernst Reinhard Beck stated the unilateral withdrawal would be “perceived by Germany as a breach of our transatlantic agreement and memorandum of understanding,” according to The Telegraph.

Italian Defence Minister Giampaolo Di Paola urged his American counterpart Leon Panetta to intervene with the Senate committee not to veto the 2013 defence spending bills after it voted down a request for further $400 million to complete the MEADS.

The US defence budget faces a reduction of $487 billion in projected spending over the next 10 years.

read more on MEADS