Implementing the U.S. European Phased Adaptive Approach (EPAA) to protect European allies from ballistic missile attack is aiming at an initial capability by the spring, a State Department official said.
“It is NATO’s goal and our desire that enough of this work be completed by the May 2012 Summit in Chicago to declare an initial NATO missile defense capability,” Ellen Tauscher, undersecretary for Arms Control and International Security, said recently at the Atlantic Council Missile Defense Conference in Washington.
Tauchser reminded the audience when she was at the Atlantic Council in 2009, President Barack Obama had just decided to shift deployment of 10 ground based interceptors in Europe to a system of land- and sea-based SM-3 interceptors to protect the United States and its NATO European allies.
This move provided more protection sooner against an existing threat, using proven systems and at a lower cost that previously, she said.
“That focus on the ‘now’ distinguishes our approach from the previously proposed system, which was focused on a long-range missile threat that has been slower to develop than previously anticipated,” she said.
Two years after that change, Phase 1 has begun implementing the EPAA, and arrangements are in place to implement the three follow-on phases.
It all began in November 2010 when NATO decided to develop a missile defense capability to provide full coverage and protection for all NATO European populations, territories, and forces against the increasing threats posed by ballistic missiles.
The Alliance also agreed to use NATO Common Funding to enhance the capabilities of the Active Layered Theater Ballistic Missile Defense system (ALTBMD) to give it the ability to provide command and control for this expanded system.
Additionally, the U.S. contribution to NATO’s missile defense, the EPAA, was welcomed.
In March 2011 the USS Monterey (CG-61) became the first U.S. ballistic missile defense asset deployed to Europe for the defense of NATO. This initial step in implementing EPAA Phase 1 provides protection to Southern Europe against exiting threats.
The Monterey is the first ship of a continuous deployment to Europe as part of the EPAA. As part of that commitment, the USS Monterey will be replaced shortly by the USS The Sullivans (DDG-68).
In September, three missile-defense agreements put the final pieces in place for EPAA.
Sept. 14, Turkey agreed to host the AN/TPY-2 missile defense radar as part of Phase 1 of the EPAA, which will significantly increase the size of the area that can be defended by the deployed Aegis systems.
“We plan to have the radar in place by the end of this year,” Tauscher said.
On Sept. 13, The United States and Romania signed a Ballistic Missile Defense Agreement for Phase 2. Once ratified by the Romanian Parliament, this will allow the United States to build a land-based SM-3 interceptor site at Deveselu Air Base in Romania.
This will be the first operational deployment of a land-based SM-3 site. Once operational in the 2015 time frame, the site will provide additional missile defense protection for Southern Europe.
On Sept. 15, the Ballistic Missile Defense Agreement with Poland entered into force for Phase 3. It is the first such agreement to reach entry into force. The July 2010 agreement modifies the Bush administration’s BMD agreement and allows deployment of the land based SM-3 site instead of GBIs. The United States and Poland are working on the steps toward deployment in 2018. When Phase 3 is fully implemented, the system will provide coverage to all European NATO Allies.
This month, Spain agreed to serve as a homeport for four Aegis ships to support future deployments to Europe. This allows the United States to respond more rapidly to a regional crisis by reducing transit times. Another advantage is reducing the overall wear and tear on these vessels that comes with crossing the Atlantic.
Other national contributions include the recent Netherlands announcement that it will spend close to $344.2 million Euros to modify the radars on its frigates to detect and track ballistic missiles at long ranges.
Throughout this process, NATO allies have responded with a tremendous amount of cooperation and support, Tauscher said.
“Together, we have worked hard to make NATO’s landmark Lisbon decision to protect all NATO European members’ territories, populations, and forces with missile defense a reality,” she said