valued at $2 billion plus €1.4 billion for MEADS design and development. This development contract was completed in 2014. The U.S. funded 58 percent of the MEADS Design and Development program, with European partners Germany and Italy providing 25 percent and 17 percent respectively. The German Bundeswehr completed an analysis of air defense alternatives in 2010 and strongly recommended MEADS as the basis for improving Germany's missile defense shield and as Germany's contribution to the European Phased Adaptive Approach. In February 2011, the U.S. Department of Defense announced that it intended to fulfill its commitment to complete the design and development effort, but that it would not procure the MEADS system for budgetary reasons. Lockheed Martin developed an interactive life cycle cost and capabilities application based on their Dynamic Comparative Analysis Methodology (DCAM) approach to more fully evaluate and communicate the performance and cost advantage of MEADS as compared to alternative systems. The DCAM application further reinforced the value of MEADS and is credited with helping ensure continued funding. In October 2011, the National Armaments Directors of Germany, Italy, and the U.S. approved a contract amendment to fund two flight intercept tests, a launcher/missile characterization test, and a sensor characterization test conducted to complete the planned development scope. In September 2013, MEADS received operating certification for Mode 5 interrogation in its Identification friend or foe (IFF) system. Mode 5 is more secure and provides positive line-of-sight identification of friendly platforms equipped with an IFF transponder to better protect allied forces. In June 2015, MEADS was selected as the basis for the German Taktisches Luftverteidigungssystem (TLVS), a new generation of air and missile defense that requires flexible architecture based on strong networking capabilities. MEADS was a candidate for Poland's Wisła medium range air defense system procurement, but was eliminated in June 2014 when competition was downselected to the US Patriot system and the French/Italian SAMP/T system. However, Lockheed Martin began renewed discussions with the Polish Ministry of Defense in February 2016 leading to a formal request for information in September 2016. MEADS remains a candidate for Poland's Narew short range air defense system procurement. Major equipment items The MEADS air and missile defense system is composed of six major equipment items. The MEADS radars, battle manager, and launchers are designed for high reliability so that the system will be able to maintain sustained operations much longer than legacy systems, resulting in