Deveselu air base to host USD 400 mln US missile defense system

The Deveselu air base near Caracal, in the county of Olt, will host a USD 400 million US ballistic missile defense system. The move is part of a new approach to ballistic missile defense in Europe called the European Phased Adaptive Approach (EPAA). The EPAA is intended to “provide protection of NATO European territories and populations, and augment protection of the United States, against the increasing threats posed by the proliferation of ballistic missiles from the Middle East,” according to official sources.

Besides the initial deployment costs, which will be supported by the US, the system will cost USD 20 million in yearly maintenance. It employs the SM-3 interceptor, also known as the Aegis Ashore System, and its deployment is expected to occur in 2015 as part of the second phase of the EPAA.The EPAA is currently in its first phase, which addresses regional ballistic missile threats to US’s European allies. In March 2011, American officials announced the deployment of the USS Monterey to the Mediterranean to begin a sustained deployment of Aegis BMD-capable ships in support of the EPAA. In Phase 2 (scheduled for 2015) the land-based SM-3 ballistic missile defense interceptor site will be added in Romania. During Phase 3 (2018) a more advanced SM-3 interceptor will be deployed and a second land-based SM-3 site will be added in Poland, which agreed to host it in 2009.

According to US under-secretary Ellen Tauscher, the hosting of the site “provides Romania with a leading role in NATO’s new missile defense capabilities. This cooperation demonstrates how our two governments are working together to make NATO’s landmark Lisbon decision on missile defense a reality.” NATO’s decision at the Lisbon Summit in November 2010 was to develop a missile defense capability to protect NATO European citizens, territory and forces against the increasing threats posed by the proliferation of ballistic missiles.

“All the analyses we have show that ballistic threats have increased in South Eastern Europe. At the same time, we need to highlight the fact that the system has a two-fold function: protection and discouragement,” said the foreign affairs minister, Theodor Baconschi, at a debate last week on Romania’s participation in the US missile defense system.

He added, “The degree of trust we have reached with our strategic partners opens the way to developing our relationship in other areas. We are convinced that Washington trusts us, just as we trust our American partners, and this will lead to more US investment in Romania and the development of our bilateral agenda.”