Anti-missile Shield in Romania

On Friday the US Army officially took over the command of the military base in Deveselu, southern Romania, hosting elements of the NATO missile defence system in Europe.

US Navy Captain William Garren, in charge with the US staff at the base, is the new commander of the unit, which will be subordinated to the Romanian Army.

John Scorby, Commander Navy Region Europe, Africa, South-West Asia, described the turnover as a “historic occasion.“

In a news release issued by the US Embassy in Bucharest, John Scorby emphasized the good relations and cooperation with the Romanian partners that in his opinion prove how important the European allies are in building the overall ballistic missile defence system.

Figures are also relevant for the importance given by the US to this project: the US earmarked 80 million US dollars for the construction of Deveselu facility, plus another 21 million invested last year.

Designed to detect, track, engage and destroy ballistic missiles in flight, the system has a defensive purpose.

Nonetheless, the explanations given repeatedly by both Washington and Bucharest failed to ease Moscow’s fears that the elements placed in Romania are a threat to itself.

Last year, the Romanian media took over an interview given by the head of the Russian Institute for Strategic Planning and Forecast Alexandr Gusev to Radio “Voice of Russia,” in which he said a NATO base in Romania might become a threat to the naval military site operated by the Russians in Sevastopol, Ukraine, only 1,500 km from Deveselu.

“Russia will not allow the Americans to turn the Black Sea into a tension-escalating region. We have enough forces there to counter the USA,” Gusev said at that time.

The facility in Deveselu will be fully operational by the end of next year.

The equipment will be almost identical to Aegis Ashore system used on US Navy guided-missile destroyers and cruisers since 2004.

The Deveselu base, sitting on about 175 hectares, will house launch modules containing 24 SM-3 missiles and a fire-control radar deckhouse with an associated Aegis command, control and communications suite, manned by about 200 U.S. military personnel, government civilians and support contractors.