Russia threatens to aim nuclear missiles at Denmark ships if it joins NATO shield

Russia threatened to aim nuclear missiles at Danish warships if Denmark joins NATO's missile defense system, in comments Copenhagen called unacceptable and NATO said would not contribute to peace.
Denmark said in August it would contribute radar capacity on some of its warships to the missile shield, which the Western alliance says is designed to protect members from missile launches from countries like Iran.
Moscow opposes the system, arguing that it could reduce the effectiveness of its own nuclear arsenal, leading to a new Cold War-style arms race.
No missiles are to be placed on Danish soil under the NATO program, but they could be deployed some day in Greenland.
Denmark's foreign minister said Russia's comments were unacceptable.
reuters

US Navy to commission missile defense base in Romania

The US Navy will commission its new missile defense base in southern Romania on Friday, one of two European land-based interceptor sites for a NATO missile shield vehemently opposed by Russia.
The base represents a rare expansion of the U.S. footprint in Europe, and the even rarer construction of a new Navy base from the ground up.
The base in Deveselu will be the first to feature the Aegis Ashore ballistic missile defense system, a land-based version of the sophisticated radar tracking system installed on U.S. warships since 2004. Scheduled to become operational by the end of next year, the base — which is housed within a larger Romanian military installation — will be staffed by several hundred U.S. military, civilian and contract employees. A second site, in Poland, is scheduled to become operational by 2018.
The site is part of a NATO missile defense shield pursued by two U.S. administrations as a defense against short- and intermediate-range ballistic missiles from Iran and other rogue states. But Russia has long criticized the project, claiming it was aimed against its own ballistic missile arsenal.
U.S. warships equipped with Aegis systems began making regular patrols in the Mediterranean in 2011, and the U.S. is moving four of the destroyers to Rota, Spain, for the missions. An advanced radar system in Turkey was completed in 2012.
The site at Deveselu, Romania, will host an Aegis SPY-1 radar and hold 24 Standard Missile-3 interceptors of the Block IB variant. A four-story radar deckhouse, similar to those used on a warship, will be moved to the site from the U.S. East Coast as part of construction.
The third and fourth phases were to focus on medium- and longer-range missile threats, with construction of the second land-based site in Poland and development of two new SM-3 variants.
stripes

USS Ross, Second USN destroyer to arrive in Rota to begin BMD mission

The second of four US Navy (USN) destroyers assigned to support Washington's missile defence architecture in Europe has arrived in Rota, Spain, on 16 June.
Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Ross (DDG 71) completed its transit from its former home port in Norfolk, Virginia, and has begun its new mission as a forward-deployed USN warship at Naval Station Rota as part of the three-pronged US plan for ballistic missile defence (BMD) in Europe.
Ross joins USS Donald Cook (DDG 75) as part of a quartet of USN destroyers to provide the initial phase of the European Phased Adaptive Approach.
janes

2nd Navy destroyer leaves Norfolk for Spain

USS Ross is the latest Norfolk-based ship to be moved to Rota.
USS Donald Cook left in January; USS Porter and USS Carney will arrive in 2015. All are Arleigh Burke class guided-missile destroyers.
 USS Ross leftt Norfolk around 9 a.m. Tuesday.
wvec.com

Americans to send first element of anti-missile system in Europe to Romania

The firsts components of a US-made anti-missile system are being assembled in New Jersey ahead of their shipping to Romania in a few weeks.
In about a year, all the pieces will be reassembled to become the first operational shore-based element of the European Phased Adaptive Approach anti-missile system.
The system is the first land-based version of the Aegis combat system, a sophisticated collection of phased-array radars, fire control directors, computers and missiles.
The deployment of the Aegis Ashore system in Romania to provide ballistic missile coverage for southern Europe represents the second phase of the European Phased Adaptive Approach, and will also use enhanced SM-3 Block IB interceptor missiles.
A second Aegis Ashore site will be built in Poland.
The local component of the shield at Deveselu will cover 175 hectares and around 200 American staff and troops will be stationed in Romania once the base becomes functional, in 2015.
According to the agreement signed in 2011, Deveselu remains under Romania’s property and sovereign jurisdiction.
romania-insider

First of four missile destroyers arrives in Spain

The first of four U.S. Navy destroyers to form the centerpiece of Europe’s missile defense shield arrived in southern Spain on Tuesday.
The USS Donald Cook, pulled into the U.S. Navy base in Rota.
Plans call for the USS Donald Cook to be joined by three more Arleigh Burke-class missile-guided destroyers, which carry the Aegis weapon system, over the coming two years. All are to be stationed at the base in Rota, on the Atlantic coast north of Gibraltar.
Other pieces of the missile defense shield include land-based Aegis interceptor batteries in Romania and Poland, radar in Turkey and a command center at Ramstein, Germany.
The plan has caused a major rift with Russia, which says the shield is aimed against its own nuclear missile arsenal. The U.S. and its NATO allies insist the defense system is meant to protect Europe from potentially hostile countries in the region, such as Iran.
The destroyer detachment expands the Navy presence in Europe at a time when other services are drawing down across the continent.
U.S. interest in the Mediterranean has risen in recent years because of conflicts and instability across the region, from Syria to Egypt and North Africa. The Mediterranean is also a significant waterway for commercial shipping and an access point to Middle Eastern waters from the Atlantic.
The ships will make regular four-month deployments around the Mediterranean basin. In addition to operations related to missile defense, they will be available for other maritime security operations, bilateral and multilateral training exercises, and other NATO deployments.
The three destroyers to join the Donald Cook are the USS Ross, theUSS Porter, and the USS Carney. Destroyer Squadron 60 in Rota will control the four ships.
stripes

USS Donald Cook heads to Rota; 3 more DDGs to follow

The destroyer Donald Cook set sail from Norfolk, Va., for its new home port in Rota, Spain, the first of four destroyers over the next two years to be forward-deployed to that nation.
Ross and Porter, out of Norfolk, and Carney, out of Mayport, Fla., will follow Cook as the first U.S. ships to be homeported at Naval Station Rota since 1979.
Former Defense Secretary announced the Rota move in October 2011. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus announced the chosen ships in February 2012.
Basing ships in Rota will allow the Navy to provide more forward-based presence with fewer ships. Transit time from the U.S. to the operating area is eliminated, and the ships are able to respond quickly to a wide range of contingencies.
About 1,300 sailors and 2,100 family members will move to Rota. They’ll join the 1,300 sailors, 1,700 family members and 200 U.S. civilian workers already there.
Many active-duty sailors were thrilled with the chance to get orders to Spain, and Rota veterans told Navy Times of the excellent quality of life at the base.
navytimes

Missile destroyers to raise the significance of Rota and the Mediterranean

The former Cold War submarine base in this sleepy town in southern Spain is about to experience a dramatic transformation — it will become the centerpiece of NATO’s new ballistic missile defense shield stretching across southern and eastern Europe.

In February, the first of four U.S. Aegis missile destroyers, the USS Donald Cook, is scheduled to arrive here for permanent stationing. Another ship will come later in 2014, followed by two more in 2015. The Arleigh-Burke class ships, which are capable of shooting down ballistic missiles, will patrol the Mediterranean basin on four-month rotations on a mission to protect Europe from the threat of attack from Iran.

The program, known as the European Phased Adaptive Approach, is part of a wider NATO plan that includes land-based interceptor batteries in Romania and Poland and a radar system in Turkey. The plan has caused a major rift with Russia, which says the shield is aimed against its own nuclear missile arsenal.

Rota, located near the Strait of Gibraltar, will nearly double in population by the time the last ship arrives in 2015. The four vessels will bring more sailors and families to the town, as well as strategic significance as a base that is on the front lines of U.S. strategy in the region.

The arrival of the ships coincides with increased U.S. interest in the Mediterranean and Africa, where an area of instability ranges from Syria down to Egypt and across much of northern Africa, parts of which have become havens for militant groups. The Mediterranean also remains the gateway for U.S. deployments to the Middle East and the Persian Gulf, where operations in Afghanistan and tensions with Iran have led to increased tours by carrier groups and smaller craft.

The four destroyers will significantly add to the number of ships controlled by the U.S. Sixth Fleet and U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa, a command that for years has had only its flagship, the USS Mount Whitney, as a permanent presence.

The U.S. established Rota in 1953 in a deal with Spanish dictator Francisco Franco in exchange for economic and military aid to the regime.

Located inside a 6,100-acre Spanish base on the Bay of Cadiz, the installation offered a way-station to ships and aircraft transiting the Atlantic before entering the Mediterranean. In 1960, it received a squadron of Skywarrior reconnaissance jets.

Rota further expanded with the arrival of the Polaris missile-wielding Submarine Squadron 16 from Charleston, S.C., in 1964.

stripes

Work begins on U.S. missile defense system in Romania

NATO Deputy Secretary General participated in a groundbreaking ceremony of the missile defence facility at the Deveselu airbase in southern Romania.
Romania has a bilateral agreement with the United States which sees the construction of an Aegis Ballistic Missile Defence system at Deveselu. This will include the construction of a missile defence radar and interceptors. The Romanian site will be part of NATO’s Ballistic Missile Defence system and when operational in 2015, will be under NATO command and control. NATO leaders declared the Alliance’s interim ballistic missile defence capability at their Summit in Chicago last year, marking the first step in the development of NATO’s missile defence system.
nato

US to pay Spain 200 million to host missile shield

Spain and the US are expected to formalize an agreement in the coming weeks over the stationing of four destroyers at the naval base in Rota, Cádiz, for an initial period of over four years. The deal is worth 200 million euros to Spanish public company Navantia, which will be responsible for the maintenance of the four Arleigh Burke class vessels. The destroyers form part of the NATO missile defense shield and are equipped with Aegis combat systems capable of intercepting ballistic missiles.
elpais

US Missile Defense Test Fails Over Pacific

America’s missile defense system failed on Friday in a test over the Pacific, with an interceptor failing to hit an incoming ballistic missile, the Pentagon said.
The miss represented yet another setback for the costly ground-based interceptors, which have not had a successful test result since 2008.
The test’s objective was to have an interceptor, launched from Vandenberg air base in California, knock out a long-range ballistic missile fired from a US military test site at Kwajalein atoll in the Marshall Islands.
defensenews

Flaws found in U.S. missile shield

Secret Defense Department studies cast doubt on whether a multibillion-dollar missile defense system planned for Europe can ever protect the U.S. from Iranian missiles as intended, congressional investigators say.
Military officials say they believe they can overcome the problems and are moving forward with plans. But proposed fixes could prove difficult. One possibility has been ruled out as technically unfeasible. A second, relocating missile interceptors planned for Poland and possibly Romania to ships on the North Sea, could be diplomatically troublesome.

usatoday

Spain approves deployment of U.S. warships

Spain gave the final green light Friday for the U.S. Navy to deploy four Aegis warships to a naval base in southern Spain.
The deployment is part of NATO’s ballistic defense shield.

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