NATO Announces Interim Missile Defense Capability

21 May 2012

President Obama and Anders Fogh Rasmussen walking together (AP Images)

NATO members announced that the alliance has achieved an interim ballistic missile defense capability, with plans for it to be fully operational in 2018. The capability is designed to defend NATO’s European populations and territories from a missile attack; the alliance said it is not directed against Russia and will not undermine Russia’s strategic deterrence capabilities.

According to a May 20 White House fact sheet, the first phase of the European Phased Adaptive Approach (EPAA) included the deployment of a high-powered AN/TPY-2 radar system to Turkey and the stationing of a U.S. warship in the eastern Mediterranean that is equipped with the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System, capable of shooting down an incoming missile.

“NATO has initiated a capability that, although limited in its initial phase, can provide real protection against ballistic missile attack,” the fact sheet said.

Along with Turkey, Spain, Romania and Poland have also agreed to host key system assets, and the 28 alliance members have committed to invest more than $1 billion in the command, control and communications infrastructure needed to support the program. The fact sheet said the interim capability is scheduled to be followed by initial operational capability in 2015 and full operational capability in 2018.

Speaking May 20 to reporters in Chicago, where the NATO Summit is being held, U.S. Ambassador to NATO Ivo Daalder said the system is already providing “real protection for parts of NATO Europe against ballistic missile attack.”

Part of southeastern Europe is protected by the system, and protection will expand as the United States deploys three more warships into the Mediterranean by 2014, and as land-based Aegis SM-3 interceptors are deployed to Romania by 2015 and to Poland by 2018, he said.

“As you deploy more capability, interceptor capability and more ships with radars, the ability to protect more and more of Europe will increase with the threat moving from short- to medium-range missiles today to intermediate-range ballistic missiles, and in phase four of our system to intercontinental ballistic missiles by 2020,” Daalder said.

Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes said the Obama administration had redesigned the U.S. missile defense strategy to focus on Iran, which it sees as the greatest ballistic missile threat to NATO and the United States.

He acknowledged that NATO continues to have differences with Russia over the missile-defense program and hopes to work through them, but that the alliance has decided to move forward with its 2010 decision that endorsed a missile-defense capability.

In their May 20 summit declaration, NATO heads of state and government said they remain committed to cooperating with Russia on missile defense “in the spirit of mutual trust and reciprocity,” and they said concrete cooperation “is the best means to provide Russia with the assurances it seeks regarding NATO’s missile defence plans and capabilities.”

“In this regard, we today reaffirm that the NATO missile defence in Europe will not undermine strategic stability. NATO missile defence is not directed against Russia and will not undermine Russia’s strategic deterrence capabilities. NATO missile defence is intended to defend against potential threats emanating from outside the Euro-Atlantic area,” the summit declaration stated.