The US is about to switch on a $800 million missile shield in Eastern Europe

Romania (Reuters) – The United States will switch on a $800 million missile shield in Romania on Thursday, part of an umbrella from Greenland to the Azores against Iranian rockets that Russia aims to knock out its nuclear weapons.

 

At the remote Deveselu air base in Romania, senior U.S. and NATO officials will declare operational the ballistic missile defense site capable of shooting down rockets from so-called rogue states that Washington says could one day reach major European cities.

 

“Iran continues to develop, test and deploy a full range of ballistic missile capabilities and those capabilities are increasing in range and accuracy,” said Frank Rose, deputy U.S. assistant secretary of state for arms control.

 

“Iran’s systems can reach into parts of Europe, including Romania,” Rose said, before heading to the site to join U.S. Deputy Defence Secretary Robert Work and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg for a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 0900 GMT.

 

Read More: The US is about to switch on a $800 million missile shield in Eastern Europe – Business Insider