By Sabine Siebold
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A new U.S. air defense base in northern Poland designed to detect and intercept ballistic missile attacks as part of a broader NATO missile shield is mission ready, the Western military alliance announced on Wednesday -fair.
Speaking on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Washington, the head of the alliance Jens Stoltenberg said the base’s readiness was an important step toward transatlantic security in the face of the growing threat posed by ballistic missiles.
“As a defensive alliance, we cannot ignore this threat. Missile defense is an essential element of NATO’s core task of collective defense,” he added, noting that ballistic missiles have been widely used in conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East.
The system, called Aegis Ashore, is based in the city of Redzikowo, in northern Poland, and is capable of intercepting short- to intermediate-range ballistic missiles, according to NATO.
The Allied Missile Defense Shield is intended to protect European citizens, territory and forces against ballistic missile attacks.
Other key elements of the shield include a second Aegis Ashore site in Romania, along with US Navy destroyers based in the Spanish port of Rota and an early warning radar situated in the Turkish city of Kurecik.
NATO says the Aegis Ashore is purely defensive. Around 200 military personnel are stationed at the two intercept sites in Poland and Romania, with the base in the Romanian city of Deveselu operational since 2016.
(Reporting by Sabine Siebold; Editing by David Gregorio)
