US Missile Defense Base Inaugurated In Poland As Trump Presidency Looms Over NATO

The US has inaugurated new air defense base in northern Poland in bid to strengthen NATO’s security presence there. The Redzikowo base is set on Poland’s Baltic coast, close to Russia’s Kaliningrad exclave; it’s a strong expression of the defense alliance between Washington and Warsaw, where Poland hopes the new establishment will allay citizen fears about security after Donald Trump’s triumphal electoral victory.

The Redzikowo base has been one long-standing project, planned since early 2000s. Polish leaders very highly rated it as a symbol of NATO’s commitment to Eastern Europe. This completed base proves U.S. geostrategic resolve, said Radoslaw Sikorski, Poland’s foreign minister. Polish President Andrzej Duda, famous for his friendly relations with Trump, attended the ceremony on Wednesday. “It’s an attempt to contain Russia by deploying infrastructure closer to Russian borders,” Moscow says.

While his earlier rhetoric about NATO has troubled other members, particularly insofar as that relates to the U.S. security commitment in defense, Warsaw feels secure about its security in Poland. Poland spends a greater percentage of its economy more than any other member of NATO, which is a statistic officials from Poland have hammered into U.S. officials in conversations to reaffirm alliance commitment.

Strengthened Missile Defense Capabilities

The new, built U.S. base in Redzikowo will constitute one important part of the Aegis Ashore system – a component of NATO’s missile defense system. The system is intended to give the alliance the capability to intercept short- and intermediate-range ballistic missiles. Beyond the Redzikowo base, a similar base already has been constructed in Romania. Key elements, besides these two bases, are two navy destroyers stationed at Rota, Spain, and an early warning radar system to be placed in Kurecik in Turkey.

Since the outline for the base was drawn out in 2007, Russia has raised concerns that the base will be a threat to its security. Still, the NATO explanation remains that it is purely for defense purposes. Military sources indicate that the system in its current configuration could only counter missiles launched from the Middle East, while intercepting missiles from Russia would require a radical change to the radar, involving a policy shift in NATO.

Only recently has Polish Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz restated the point that the scope of this missile shield needs to be broadened to meet regionally changing security needs, although the extent of the expansion may continue to be a matter of debate between NATO and the U.S.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte is scheduled to meet Polish President Duda and Prime Minister Donald Tusk in Warsaw to address the implications of the new base and possible improvements to the security measures administered by NATO across Europe.

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