US Ballistic Missile Defense in Poland Ready to Operate, NATO Chief: We Can't Ignore Threat

Aegis Ashore facility in Romania. (Wikimedia Commons/US Navy/Lt. Amy Forsythe)

JAKARTA - The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) announced on Wednesday that a new United States air defense base in northern Poland, designed to detect and intercept ballistic missile attacks as part of NATO's broader missile shield, is ready to carry out its mission.

Speaking on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Washington, United States, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the base's readiness was an important step for trans-Atlantic security in the face of the growing ballistic missile threat.

"As a defense alliance, we cannot ignore that threat," he said as reported by Reuters July 11.

"Missile defense is an essential element of NATO's core task of collective defense," he added, noting that ballistic missiles have been used extensively in conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East.

The system, dubbed Aegis Ashore, is based in the northern Polish town of Redzikowo. It is capable of intercepting short- to medium-range ballistic missiles, according to NATO.

The allied missile defense shield is intended to protect European citizens, territories and troops from ballistic missile attacks.

Other key elements of the shield include a second Aegis Ashore site in Romania, along with a US Navy destroyer based at the Spanish port of Rota and an early warning radar located in the Turkish city of Kurecik.

NATO says Aegis Ashore is purely defensive. About 200 military personnel are stationed at two interceptor sites in Poland and Romania, with a base in the Romanian city of Deveselu, which has been operational since 2016.