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Archie to SAM: A Short Operational History of Ground-Based Air ...

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BALLISTIC MISSILE DEFENSE IN THE 1990S<br />

Figure 95. Hawk intercepting Lance. The Hawk had the potential <strong>to</strong><br />

intercept ballistic missiles, as it demonstrated in intercepting this<br />

Lance surface-<strong>to</strong>-surface missile. (Reprinted from Ballistic Missile Defense<br />

Organization.)<br />

The Army wanted <strong>to</strong> replace Hawk with a <strong>SAM</strong> system possessing<br />

capabilities between that <strong>of</strong> the man-portable Stinger<br />

and the much larger, complex, and capable Patriot. It desired<br />

better range, mobility, and firepower than the Hawk and<br />

greater mobility and survivability than the Patriot. (Another<br />

goal <strong>of</strong> the program was <strong>to</strong> reduce the manpower required <strong>to</strong><br />

man the <strong>SAM</strong> battalion from 500 <strong>to</strong> about 300.) The new system<br />

began life under the name Corps Surface-<strong>to</strong>-<strong>Air</strong> Missile, a<br />

joint Army-Marine project intended <strong>to</strong> replace the Hawk. It<br />

soon became an international project when the Germans,<br />

French, and Italians joined the effort, formalized in February<br />

1995 when the system was renamed MEADS. 13<br />

241

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