The NATO missile defense system is a missile defense system being constructed by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in several member states and around the Mediterranean Sea. Plans for this system have changed several times since first studied in 2002, including as a response to Russian opposition.
A missile defense feasibility study was launched in May 2001. [1] The NATO Consultation, Command and Control Agency (NC3A) and NATO's Conference of National Armaments Directors (CNAD) were also involved in negotiations. The study concluded that missile defense is technically feasible, and it provided a technical basis for ongoing political and military discussions regarding the desirability of a NATO missile defense system.[ citation needed ] The United States negotiated with Poland and the Czech Republic over the course of several years after on the deployment of interceptor missiles and a radar tracking system in the two countries. [2] Both countries' governments indicated that they would allow the deployment.
In April 2007, NATO's European allies called for a NATO missile defense system which would complement the American national missile defense system to protect Europe from missile attacks and NATO's decision-making North Atlantic Council held consultations on missile defense in the first meeting on the topic at such a senior level. [3] In response, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin claimed that such a deployment could lead to a new arms race and could enhance the likelihood of mutual destruction. He also suggested that his country would freeze its compliance with the 1990 Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE)—which limits military deployments across the continent—until all NATO countries had ratified the adapted CFE treaty. [4] Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer claimed the system would not affect strategic balance or threaten Russia, as the plan is to base only ten interceptor missiles in Poland with an associated radar in the Czech Republic. [5]
On 14 July 2007, Russia gave notice of its intention to suspend the CFE treaty, effective 150 days later. [6] [7] On 14 August 2008, the United States and Poland came to an agreement to place a base with ten interceptor missiles with associated MIM-104 Patriot air defense systems in Poland. This came at a time when tension was high between Russia and most of NATO and resulted in a nuclear threat on Poland by Russia if the building of the missile defenses went ahead. On 20 August 2008 the United States and Poland signed the agreement, while Russia sent word to Norway that it was suspending ties with NATO. [8]
During the 2008 Bucharest Summit, the alliance further discussed the technical details as well as the political and military implications of the proposed elements of the US missile defense system in Europe. Allied leaders recognized that the planned deployment of European-based US missile defense assets would help protect many Allies, and agreed that this capability should be an integral part of any future NATO-wide missile defense architecture. In August 2008, Poland and the United States signed a preliminary deal to place part of the missile defense shield in Poland that would be linked to air-defense radar in the Czech Republic. [9] More than 130,000 Czechs signed a petition for a referendum on the base. [10]
On 20 March 2015, Russia's ambassador to Denmark wrote a letter to the editor of Jyllands-Posten warning the Danes that their participation in this merge of assets would make their warships targets of Russian nuclear missiles. [11] Denmark's former Minister for Foreign Affairs Holger K. Nielsen commented that if there's a war, Danish warships will be targets in any case. [12]
On 17 September 2009, U.S. President Barack Obama announced that the planned deployment of long-range missile defense interceptors and equipment in Poland and the Czech Republic was not to go forward, and that a defense against short- and medium-range missiles using Aegis warships would be deployed instead. [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] Following the change in plans, Russian President Dimitri Medvedev announced that a proposed Russian Iskander surface to surface missile deployment in nearby Kaliningrad would also not go ahead. The two deployment cancellation announcements were later followed with a statement by newly named NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen calling for a strategic partnership between Russia and the Alliance, explicitly involving technological cooperation of the two parties' missile defense systems. [18]
According to a September 2009 White House Factsheet entitled "Fact Sheet on U.S. Missile Defense Policy - A "Phased, Adaptive Approach" for Missile Defense in Europe" contains the following four phases: [19]
The deployment of warships equipped with the Aegis RIM-161 SM-3 missile began after Obama's speech in September 2009. These missiles complement the Patriot missile systems already deployed by American units. [14] [20] Though initially supportive of the plan, once USS Monterey (CG-61) was actually deployed to the Black Sea, the Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement voicing concern about the deployment. [21]
On 4 February 2010, Romania agreed to host the SM-3 missiles starting in 2015 [22] at Deveselu. The first element of this revised system, the early warning radar station in Kürecik, Malatya, Turkey, went operational in 2012. [23] The BMD component in Romania was undergoing an upgrade in May 2019; in the interim a THAAD unit, B Battery (THAAD), 62nd Air Defense Artillery Regiment, was emplaced in NSF Deveselu, Romania; [24] the upgrade was completed August 9, 2019 and the THAAD battery has returned to its home station. [25] Other parts of the missile defense system are planned to be built in Portugal, Poland, Romania and Spain. [26] In September 2011, NATO invited India to be a partner in its ballistic missile defense system. [27] [28] V. K. Saraswat, the architect of Indian Ballistic Missile Defense Program, subsequently told the press, "We are analysing the report. It is under consideration." [28]
Also in September 2011, the White House released a Factsheet that reports on the European Phased Adaptive Approach (EPAA). With respect to EPAA's [15] implementation as part of the NATO missile defense in Europe the factsheet notes the four phases outlined above: [29]
During its 2012 Chicago Summit NATO leaders declared that the NATO missile defense system has reached interim capability. [31] Interim capability means that a basic command and control capability has been tested and installed at NATOs Headquarters Allied Air Command in Ramstein, Germany, while NATO Allies provide sensors and interceptors to connect to the system. [32] It also means that US ships with anti-missile interceptors in the Mediterranean Sea and a Turkey-based radar system have been put under NATO command in the German base. [31] [33] "Our system will link together missile defense assets from different Allies – satellites, ships, radars and interceptors – under NATO command and control. It will allow us to defend against threats from outside the Euro-Atlantic area," NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said. [34]
NATO long-term goal is to merge missile defense assets provided by individual Allies into a coherent defense system so that full coverage and protection for all NATO European populations, territory and forces against the threats posed by proliferation of ballistic missiles is ensured. This goal is expected to be released sometime between the end of the 2010s and the beginning of the 2020s. [32] To this end Spain will host four US Aegis warships at its port in Rota while Poland and Romania have agreed to host US land-based SM-3 missiles in the coming years. [33] According to a State Department official Frank A. Rose, the United States has "offered EPAA assets to the Alliance" as an "interim BMD capability", including the AN/TPY-2 radar deployed in Turkey, which is "under NATO operational control". Rose also said that "In addition, U.S. BMD-capable Aegis ships in Europe are also now able to operate under NATO operational control when threat conditions warrant." [35]
In 2020, the Aegis Ashore site in Poland had not yet been completed, due to incomplete auxiliary controls for heating, power, and cooling. [36] Missile Defense Agency's Vice Admiral Jon Hill was to announce in February 2020 whether another contractor would be required. By 2018 the Aegis SM-3 Block IB missiles were already on-site in Poland; the Aegis Ashore Ballistic Missile Defense System in Romania is operational. [36] The Aegis Ashore site in Poland became operational in summer 2024. [37]
A 2012 GAO report found that the phase four interceptors may be poorly placed and of the wrong type to defend the United States. [38] This capability was planned to be in place by 2020, but this has "been delayed to at least 2022 due to cuts in congressional funding." [39]
Some Republicans including Mitt Romney, Dick Cheney and John McCain have called Obama's changes from the system Bush proposed a "gift" to Vladimir Putin, but Gates wrote in Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War that the change was made to ensure a more effective defense for Europe. [40]
Poland has sought cooperation with France and Germany in the establishment of a joint missile defense system. [41]
An anti-ballistic missile (ABM) is a surface-to-air missile designed to counter ballistic missiles. Ballistic missiles are used to deliver nuclear, chemical, biological, or conventional warheads in a ballistic flight trajectory. The term "anti-ballistic missile" is a generic term for a system designed to intercept and destroy any type of ballistic threat; however, it is commonly used for systems specifically designed to counter intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs).
The MIM-104 Patriot is a surface-to-air missile (SAM) system, the primary such system used by the United States Army and several allied states. It is manufactured by the U.S. defense contractor Raytheon and derives its name from the radar component of the weapon system. The AN/MPQ-53 at the heart of the system is known as the "Phased Array Tracking Radar to Intercept on Target," which is a backronym for "Patriot". In 1984, the Patriot system began to replace the Nike Hercules system as the U.S. Army's primary high to medium air defense (HIMAD) system and the MIM-23 Hawk system as the U.S. Army's medium tactical air defense system. In addition to these roles, Patriot has been given a function in the U.S. Army's anti-ballistic missile (ABM) system. As of 2016, the system is expected to stay fielded until at least 2040.
The Aegis Combat System is an American integrated naval weapons system, which uses computers and radars to track and guide weapons to destroy enemy targets. It was developed by the Missile and Surface Radar Division of RCA, and it is now produced by Lockheed Martin.
The Aegis ballistic missile defense system, also known as Sea-Based Midcourse, is a Missile Defense Agency program under the United States Department of Defense developed to provide missile defense against short and intermediate-range ballistic missiles. The program is part of the United States national missile defense strategy and European NATO missile defense system.
National missile defense (NMD) refers to the nationwide antimissile program the United States has had development since the 1990s. After the renaming in 2002, the term now refers to the entire program, not just the ground-based interceptors and associated facilities.
Ground-Based Midcourse Defense (GMD), previously National Missile Defense (NMD), is an anti-ballistic missile system implemented by the United States of America for defense against ballistic missiles, during the midcourse phase of ballistic trajectory flight. It is a major component of the American missile defense strategy to counter ballistic missiles, including intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) carrying nuclear, chemical, biological or conventional warheads.
Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), formerly Theater High Altitude Area Defense, is an American anti-ballistic missile defense system designed to shoot down short, medium, and intermediate-range ballistic missiles in their terminal phase by intercepting with a hit-to-kill approach. THAAD was developed after the experience of Iraq's Scud missile attacks during the Gulf War in 1991. The THAAD interceptor carries no warhead, instead relying on its kinetic energy of impact to destroy the incoming missile.
The Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS) is a ground-mobile air and missile defense system intended to replace the Patriot missile system through a NATO-managed development. The program is a development of the United States, Germany and Italy.
The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) is a component of the United States government's Department of Defense responsible for developing a comprehensive defense against ballistic missiles. It had its origins in the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) which was established in 1983 by Ronald Reagan and which was headed by Lt. General James Alan Abrahamson. Under the Strategic Defense Initiative's Innovative Sciences and Technology Office headed by physicist and engineer Dr. James Ionson, the investment was predominantly made in basic research at national laboratories, universities, and in industry. These programs have continued to be key sources of funding for top research scientists in the fields of high-energy physics, advanced materials, nuclear research, supercomputing/computation, and many other critical science and engineering disciplines—funding which indirectly supports other research work by top scientists, and which was most politically viable to fund from appropriations for national defense. It was renamed the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization in 1993, and then renamed the Missile Defense Agency in 2002. The current director is U.S. Navy Vice Admiral Jon A. Hill.
Missile defense is a system, weapon, or technology involved in the detection, tracking, interception, and also the destruction of attacking missiles. Conceived as a defense against nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), its application has broadened to include shorter-ranged non-nuclear tactical and theater missiles.
The Sejong the Great-class destroyers, also known as KDX-III, are three guided-missile destroyers of the Republic of Korea Navy (ROKN).
The RIM-161 Standard Missile 3 (SM-3) is a ship-based surface-to-air missile used by the United States Navy to intercept short- and intermediate-range ballistic missiles as a part of Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System. Although primarily designed as an anti-ballistic missile, the SM-3 has also been employed in an anti-satellite capacity against a satellite at the lower end of low Earth orbit. The SM-3 is primarily used and tested by the United States Navy and also operated by the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force.
The RIM-174 Standard Extended Range Active Missile (ERAM), or Standard Missile 6 (SM-6), is a missile in current production for the United States Navy (USN). It was designed for extended-range anti-air warfare (ER-AAW) purposes, providing capability against fixed and rotary-wing aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles, anti-ship cruise missiles in flight, both over sea and land, and terminal ballistic missile defense. It can also be used as a high-speed anti-ship missile. The missile uses the airframe of the earlier SM-2ER Block IV (RIM-156A) missile, adding the active radar homing seeker from the AIM-120C AMRAAM in place of the semi‑active seeker of the previous design. This will improve the capability of the Standard missile against highly agile targets and targets beyond the effective range of the launching vessels' target illumination radars. Initial operating capability was planned for 2013 and was achieved on 27 November 2013. The SM-6 is not meant to replace the SM-2 series of missiles but will serve alongside and provide extended range and increased firepower. It was approved for export in January 2017. An air-to-air variant of the SM-6, known as the AIM-174, is the first dedicated long-range air-to-air missile employed by the USN since the 2004 retirement of the AIM-54 Phoenix. SM-6 can also be fired from the U.S. Army's Typhon missile launcher as part of the Strategic Mid-range Fires System (SMRF).
Deveselu is a commune in Olt County, Oltenia, Romania. It is composed of two villages, Comanca and Deveselu.
David's Sling, also formerly known as Magic Wand, is an Israel Defense Forces military system jointly developed by the Israeli defense contractor Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and the American defense contractor Raytheon, that became operational in 2017. It is designed to intercept enemy planes, drones, tactical ballistic missiles, medium to long-range rockets and cruise missiles, fired at ranges from 40 to 300 km. David's Sling is intended to replace the MIM-23 Hawk and MIM-104 Patriot in the Israeli arsenal.
The United States missile defense complex in Poland, replaced a planned site in Redzikowo, Poland with a phased plan—the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System, including SM-3 Block IIA interceptors to be positioned in Poland from 2018; Naval Support Facility-Redzikowo is to transition from Missile Defense Agency control to the US Navy on Friday, 15 December 2023, according to the Prime Minister of Poland, Donald Tusk, and Sixth Fleet. The official transfer to NATO is scheduled for mid-2024.
Swordfish is an Indian active electronically scanned array (AESA) long-range tracking radar specifically developed to counter ballistic missile threat. It will be a part of the Indian Ballistic Missile Defense Programme. First testing of this radar was in March 2009. Main aim of the test was to validate the capabilities of the Swordfish Long Range Tracking Radar (LRTR). "The missile to be hit will be fired from a longer distance than it was in the earlier test. DRDO tested whether the radar could track the incoming missile from that distance or not," said a member of the project. This radar is an acknowledged derivative of the Israeli EL/M-2080 Green Pine long range radar, which is the critical component of that country's Arrow missile defense system. However, it differs from the Israeli system as it employs Indian Transmit Receive modules, signal processing, computers and power supplies. It is also more powerful than the base Green Pine system and was developed to meet India's specific BMD needs.
Missile defense systems are a type of missile defense intended to shield a country against incoming missiles, such as intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) or other ballistic missiles. The United States, Russia, India, France, Israel, Italy, United Kingdom, China and Iran have all developed missile defense systems.
Kürecik Radar Station is a military installation located in the town of Kürecik in Malatya Province, southeastern Turkey. It was established in 2012 for use by NATO as an early-warning radar against ballistic missile attacks.
The 99th Military Base Deveselu, or the Deveselu Military Base, is a Romanian NATO base hosting the United States Navy Aegis Ashore Ballistic Missile Defense System. The base consists of three military units: The Romanian 99th Military Base, which hosts two American bases: the Naval Support Facility Deveselu and the Aegis Ashore Defense System Romania. Located in Deveselu commune, Olt County, the base has an area of 900 ha ; of those, 170 ha are used by the U.S. forces.