MI Technologies Awarded $9.9 Million Contract to Build a Radar Test and Measurement System

October 31, 2007

MI Technologies Awarded $9.9 Million Contract to Build a Radar Test and Measurement System

ATLANTA: MI Technologies announced today it has received a $9.9 million contract from Lockheed Martin MS2's Radar Systems business to design and build a radar test and measurement system in support of the Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS).

MEADS is a mobile air and missile defense system designed to replace Patriot systems in the United States and Germany and Nike Hercules systems in Italy. Under development by Germany, Italy and the United States, MEADS includes a lightweight launcher, 360-degree fire control and surveillance radars, and plug-and-fight battle management command and control abilities not found in current systems.

Under terms of the contract, MI Technologies will provide a large, spherical, near-field measurement system at Lockheed Martin’s Liverpool, New York facility, which will be used to analyze and characterize a 16' x 16' (4.9 m x 4.9 m) ground-based phased-array antenna. The Lockheed Martin facility is currently performing engineering development work for the new surveillance radar for MEADS. It also will contribute significant software and hardware components of the MEADS Multifunction Fire Control Radar (MFCR).

The MI Technologies-supplied test and measurement system includes a 73' long by 60' wide by 55' tall (22.3 m x 18.3 m x 16.8 m) anechoic-measurement chamber to house a high-accuracy, spherical, near-field measurement system. The measurement system will be used for development and production antenna pattern testing and phased array element calibration. An MI-6850 spherical near-field arch positioner with a measurement radius of 30' (9.1 m) and an MI-51850 azimuth positioner along with an MI-2097 Automated Microwave Measurement System (AMMS), and test automation software are the major elements of the measurement system. The AMMS allows users to fully automate the antenna measurement process from set up to analysis and reports.

John Breyer, President and CEO of MI Technologies, said, "Precision test and measurement work on this large scale has become a specialty of MI Technologies. We are very pleased to be selected by Lockheed Martin to provide the measurement system that will deliver the highly accurate characterization and calibration of the next generation of theater and ballistic defense search and acquisition radar systems. After installation Lockheed Martin will have the most advanced large antenna measurement system that is available worldwide. This system will be capable of rapid antenna characterization with a high degree of accuracy. We are proud to be in a position to supply this system to Lockheed Martin."

MEADS will provide capabilities beyond any other fielded or planned air and missile defense system. It will be easily deployed to a theater of operations and once there, will keep pace with fast-moving maneuver forces. When completed, MEADS will be the only air and missile defense system able to roll off tactical transports with the troops and almost immediately begin operations. More importantly, its open architecture will provide for 21st century air and missile defense system-of-system integration capabilities that allow operational mission-tailoring for homeland defense or defense of maneuver forces. MEADS will also provide greater firepower with less manpower than current systems, producing dramatic operation and support cost savings.

In May 2005, MEADS International signed a definitized contract valued at $2 billion plus €1.4 billion for MEADS design and development. A multinational joint venture headquartered in Orlando, FL, MEADS International’s participating companies are MBDA Italia, Lenkflugkörpersysteme (LFK) in Germany and Lockheed Martin in the United States. Together, these companies have focused an international engineering team in Orlando to develop systems and technologies for the MEADS program, which is closely watched as a model for collaborative transatlantic development. The United States funds 58 percent of the MEADS program, and European partners Germany and Italy provide 25 percent and 17 percent respectively.

MI Technologies (www.mi-technologies.com), headquartered in Suwanee, Georgia, delivers engineering solutions and advanced products, systems, and software to address a wide range of technical applications where precise measurement, control or data acquisition is required. For more than 50 years, the business has been a leading supplier of products, systems and services for RF and Microwave antenna, radome, and radar cross section (RCS) testing. MI Technologies' test, measurement and precision motion control products are used in research, development, monitoring and manufacturing processes worldwide.