Missile defense

Aegis not enough? US to deploy THAAD missile defense systems to eastern Europe

The US will send its THAAD systems to Romania this summer, where another massive missile defense site is undergoing modernization. This is the first time the systems have been deployed so close to Russian borders.

Fort Hood-based Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) systems will arrive in Romania in the coming months at NATO’s request, according to the US European Command (EUCOM). The “preplanned and temporary” deployment will add to the existing Aegis Ashore missile defense compound built in the Romanian neighborhood of Deveselu.

THAAD is said to have been mobilized to allow NATO to perform some “regular updates” at the controversial Aegis Ashore site. EUCOM has notably said that the modernization “will not add any offensive capabilities to the Aegis Ashore Missile Defense System.”

Russia, which has long opposed building ballistic missile facilities in eastern Europe, maintains that the Aegis Ashore could be used to launch offensive missiles – contrary to Western claims that this is a defensive weapon.