While MEADS was originally billed as having 360-degree surveillance capability -- a theoretical improvement over the Patriot -- Pentagon planners have now determined that by equipping the Patriot system with three "multi-functional" radar, it, too, has 360-degree coverage.
The Patriot system consists of radar, a launcher and other components.
The Patriot system, for shooting such missiles down in their "terminal" phase, is already in service, though with mixed success.
Israel has deployed part of a new missile-defence system, which is designed to be more effective than the American Patriot system that had little success in stopping Iraqi Scud missiles in the 1991 Gulf War.
In the U.S. Patriot system, as many as eight mobile missile-launching stations, each holding four missiles, may be controlled from one mobile control centre, which integrates radar sighting and tracking, identification, missile guidance, and other information.
The Patriot system made a much-lauded debut during the Persian Gulf War (1990 91), but after-action analyses raised questions about the effectiveness of its surface-to-air interceptors.
