Nancy Jones-Bonbrest, who is spokeswoman for the Pentagon’s Missile Defense Agency (MDA), said the Aegis Ashore Poland site would be completed and ready for acceptance tests by the US Navy by the end of 2023, Polish state news agency PAP reported on Wednesday.
After completion, the site at Redzikowo in northern Poland will become America’s second such missile defence site in Europe, Jones-Bonbrest said, according to the PAP news agency.
Jones-Bobrest was also quoted as saying that the launch of the Redzikowo site would mark the completion of the 2009 US ballistic missile defence strategy for Europe, the European Phased Adaptive Approach (EPAA).
A US contribution to NATO’s missile defence system, the EPAA is designed to protect Europe against short-, medium-, and intermediate-range ballistic missiles launched from Iran, according to the US-based Arms Control Association.
In addition to the site in northern Poland, the EPAA comprises an Aegis Ashore site at Deveselu Air Base in Romania, a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) radar at Kürecik, Turkey, and a command centre at Ramstein Air Base in Germany, the PAP news agency reported.
Moreover, ballistic missile defence (BMD)-capable US Navy Aegis ships are stationed at a naval base in Rota, Spain, according to officials.
A final part of the system, the Aegis Ashore Poland site at Redzikowo will host an AN/SPY-1 radar, Mk 41 VLS launchers and anti-ballistic SM-3 (Standard Missile-3) rockets, the PAP news agency reported.
Riki Ellison, founder and chairman of the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance, an American NGO, said the Aegis Ashore system would deter a "limited first strike" by an enemy, protecting Polish citizens and the country's critical infrastructure, according to PAP.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP, armscontrol.org