REDZIKOWO, Poland - A new U.S. ballistic missile defence site in northeastern Poland is now operational and available for the defence of the Alliance. Dubbed “Aegis Ashore”, the site is part of a larger NATO missile shield and is designed to detect, track and intercept ballistic missiles in flight.
Missile defence is an essential element for NATO’s core task of collective defence
“This is an important step for transatlantic security and NATO’s ability to defend against the growing threat of ballistic missiles,” said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. “Ballistic missiles have been widely used conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East. As a defensive Alliance we cannot ignore that threat. Missile defence is an essential element for NATO’s core task of collective defence,” Mr Stoltenberg added.
The new mission-ready Aegis Ashore Ballistic Missile Defence System facility at Redzikowo, Poland, provides capability to an essential element of NATO collective defence. Archive photo courtesy U.S. Navy.
The "deckhouse" command and control centre of the Aegis Ashore Ballistic Missile Defence System mission at Naval Support Facility in Redzikowo, Poland. U.S. Navy archive photo by Amy Forsythe.
One of three ballistic missile defence launcher sites located on the new Naval Support Facility in Redzikowo, Poland, the home to the Aegis Ashore Ballistic Missile Defence System mission. U.S. Navy archive photo by Amy Forsythe.
NATO’s Ballistic Missile Defence allows for the detection of a missile attack and uses radar data to guide an interceptor to destroy the adversary’s offensive ballistic missile. The missile defence site in Poland can defend against short-to-intermediate range ballistic missiles. Aegis Ashore is a key component of NATO’s Ballistic Missile Defence “Enhanced Operational Capability” declared by Allied Heads of State and Government at the Washington Summit.
NATO Ballistic Missile Defence’s mission is to protect NATO’s European populations, territory and forces against the increasing threat posed by ballistic missiles. Key elements of NATO’s missile shield include the two U.S. Aegis Ashore sites in Poland and Romania along with U.S navy destroyers out of Rota, Spain, and an early-warning radar in Kurecik, Türkiye. Aegis Ashore is purely defensive. About 200 military personnel are stationed at the two interceptor sites in Poland and Romania. The site in Deveselu, Romania, has been operational since 2016.
As a result of the 2009 European Phased Adaptive Approach initiative which calls for using Ballistic Missile Defense capabilities to defend Europe against threats originating from outside the Euro-Atlantic area, the new Naval Support Facility in Redzikowo, Poland, is the home to the Aegis Ashore Ballistic Missile Defense System mission. The new base will expand a defensive capability that protects NATO European territories, populations and forces.