Terminal High Altitude Air Defense (THAAD) Missile Defense System deployed to Romania
In accordance with the decisions adopted at NATO level and the bilateral agreement between Romania and the United States of America, the Aegis Ashore Missile Defense System installed at the Deveselu will undergo a planned update process.
The scheduled update is part of regular updates taking place on all U.S. Aegis systems and will not add any offensive capabilities to the Aegis Ashore Missile Defense System.
During the update, NATO will provide an alternative ballistic missile defense capability by deploying a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) Weapon System.
The THAAD, from the 69th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, 32nd Army Air and Missile Defense Command stationed at Fort Hood, Texas, will integrate into the existing NATO BMD architecture and will remain operational only during the limited period of scheduled maintenance and updates on the Aegis Ashore Missile Defense System in Romania this summer.
Once in place, NATO’s Allied Air Command will assume operational control of THAAD for the duration of its mission.
“Aegis Ashore Romania is an important part of the European Phased Adaptive Approach, which is designed to protect European NATO allies and the U.S. deployed forces in the region against the growing threat posed by the proliferation of ballistic missiles outside the Euro-Atlantic area. This site provides a defensive capability to deter future conflicts, and to defend ourselves, and our NATO allies, should deterrence fail” USEUCOM stated.
The Aegis Ashore in Deveselu, Romania, has been operational since 2016. It is part of the European Phased Adaptive Approach, or EPAA, and consists of an AN/TPY-2 radar in Turkey and two Aegis Ashore systems — one in Romania and one in Poland. The Polish system has been hit with delays due to construction issues at Redzikowo military base that are unrelated to the system’s performance. It won’t be operational until 2020
THAAD is a land-based element of the Ballistic Missile Defense System. It is a globally transportable, rapidly deployable capability to intercept and destroy ballistic missiles inside or outside the atmosphere during their final, or terminal, phase of flight. This ability to intercept enemy missiles at high altitudes mitigates effects before they can reach the ground.
THAAD is an important part of the U.S Army’s layered missile defense capabilities and it has been deployed in Guam since 2013 and in South Korea since 2017.
