US interceptor missiles could also be launched from ships in the Baltic Sea

print this

The American missile defence system in Europe will be changed in such a way that the intended missile defence shield in Poland and the Czech Republic will be replaced by interceptor missiles deployable from the so-called Aegis ships, the US Secretary of Defence Robert Gates announced in Washington on Thursday.
      “The United States will initially deploy Navy ships equipped with Aegis missile interceptors to help defend Europe and U.S. forces against threats from Iran and others”, Gates said. Gates mentioned that the interceptor missiles would be deployed in both southern and northern Europe.
      In this case “northern Europe” can also be taken to mean the Baltic Sea.
      “That is not a far-fetched theory”, says Cmdr. Juha-Antero Puistola from the National Defence University's Department of Strategic and Defence Studies.
      “If the idea is to create this type of mobile platform, then some of the ships can well be placed in the Baltic. The Aegis cruisers have always been moved wherever needed.”
     
According to Puistola, the Aegis ships would be moved to the Baltic Sea only if a missile threat, for example from Iran, would require this. “It does not mean the ships would be anchored permanently in the Baltic.”
      In Puistola’s opinion, from the Russian point of view the use of the Baltic Sea as part of the US missile defence strategy would be a lesser evil compared with a permanent missile base in Poland.
      “If these ships were to enter into the Baltic, then Russia would also know the reason for it, for these floating launch pads cannot be moved secretly.”
      An Aegis ship is a military vessel equipped with the Aegis combat system, an integrated weapons and missile interception system developed by the US Navy.
     
The US explains the change to its defence strategy by saying that according to intelligence assessments the threat of the potential Iranian intercontinental ballistic missile capability has been slower to develop than had previously been thought. Instead, the country’s short- and medium-range missiles, such as the Shahab-3, now pose a more concrete threat.
      Movable sea-to-air interceptor missiles are very well suited to the task of fending off attacks by these type of weapons.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Finnish and Russian foreign ministers: Missiles have no effect on EU cooperation (12.11.2008)

Links:
  Aegis Combat System (Wikipedia)

Helsingin Sanomat