by Kris Osborn, President, Center for Military Modernization
The US and NATO have long been concerned about the ballistic missile threat to Europe from Iran, a concern which not surprisingly is growing more intense in light of recent war in the Middle East and Houthi-backed attacks in the Red Sea.
The time is therefore quite appropriate for the Navy to have assumed command of a cutting-edge ballistic missile defenses site in Poland. The US Navy has taken over this key land-based ballistic missile defense site in Poland as part of a deliberate effort to improve security across the European Continent and specifically counter Iran’s known arsenal of ballistic missiles.
The site in Poland, called Aegis Ashore, is the manifestation of a multi-year effort to adapt ship-based Aegis Combat System’s radar, fire control and interceptor missiles to a land-based configuration. The Aegis ground-integrated radar can “see,” “find” and track ballistic missiles from hundreds of miles, and newer variants of the SM-3IIA interceptor are larger, more precise and longer-range. Aegis-guided SM-3IIAs have shown an ability to track and destroy ICBM-like targets as they descend from space and re-enter the earth’s atmosphere.
The Poland site has been in development for several years as part of an Obama-administration effort called European Phased Adaptive Array intended to leverage the success and promise of ship-based Aegis ballistic and cruise missile defense and bring the integrated system to critical European land-locations to increase continental protection. Already an Aegis Ashore capability is up and running in Deveselu, Romania, about 90 miles from Bucharest. The site, which is under the control of NATO, has been in operation for more than five years now.
“The acceptance of the Aegis Ashore site in Poland, like its sister site in Romania, is an important step in our efforts to get AAMDS ready to protect against the growing threat posed by ballistic missiles launched from Iran,” a Navy essay says. “The Aegis Ashore is defensive in nature and designed to shoot down threats posed to U.S. forward deployed forces, or the security of our European allies. The defensive focus of Aegis Ashore is confirmed in the U.S. commitments to NATO and standing NATO policy.”
Yet another advantage to the Aegis Combat System is that it easily links with a group of Key US allies and is therefore positioned to share threat-track information across a wide group of allies. As part of this protective geographical envelope, the US Navy also operates several Arleigh-Burke-class destroyers in Rota Spain, positioned to counter any hostile attacks from the Mediterranean as well.
Countering Iran’s Ballistic Missiles across Europe
An interesting and quite significant research paper from Iran Watch shows that indeed Iran does possess a massive arsenal of ballistic missiles, at least five of which can reportedly travel distances of 1,300km or more. The famous Shahab-3, for instance, is listed by Iran Watch as capable of traveling 1,300km with a 1,000kg warhead. The liquid fuel, single stage Shahab-3 rocket is now deployed and exists in large numbers. The longest range ballistic missile listed by Iran Watch is the Khorramshahr 1,2, and 4 .. weapons cited as able to travel as far as 2,000 to 3,000km. This means the missile could hit anywhere in Israel from Tehran or most places throughout Central and Western Iran. Other Iranian Medium Range Ballistic Missiles capable of traveling 1,600km or more are the now-deployed Ghadr, Emad and Paveh missiles, according to Iran Watch. The Iranian Sejjil MRBM can travel 2,000km as well.
Kris Osborn is the Defense Editor for the National Interest. Osborn previously served at the Pentagon as a Highly Qualified Expert with the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army—Acquisition, Logistics & Technology. Osborn has also worked as an anchor and on-air military specialist at national TV networks. He has appeared as a guest military expert on Fox News, MSNBC, The Military Channel, and The History Channel. He also has a Master’s Degree in Comparative Literature from Columbia University.
