Progress Continues Toward NATO Missile Defense System

By Donna Miles

American Forces Press Service

STUTTGART, Germany, May 15, 2012 – The United States will announce at next week’s NATO summit in Chicago that the new missile defense system in Europe has reached interim operational capability, the alliance’s supreme allied commander for Europe said.

“We will announce the interim operational capability of that system, which will begin to protect our European partners from the threat of ballistic missiles,” Navy Adm. James G. Stavridis said during an interview with the Pentagon Channel and American Forces Press Service. Stavridis also commands U.S. European Command.

That system -- the first phase of the European Phased Adaptive Approach Missile Defense System that President Barack Obama proposed in 2009 -- will integrate with the NATO command-and-control system to begin standing up the NATO missile defense system, he said.

The first phase, now completed, relies on existing missile defense systems to address short- and medium-range ballistic missile threats. Upcoming phases will introduce increasingly capable interceptors and missile defense command-and-control system upgrades.

Phase 1 consists of Aegis ships with ballistic missile defense capabilities and a command-and-control system in Ramstein, Germany.

USS Monterey, followed shortly by USS The Sullivans, last year became the first ships to rotate to the Mediterranean Sea in support of the initiative. Stavridis told Congress in March he considers these ships “the backbone of missile defense” with the added benefit of being able to support anti-submarine, anti-air and anti-surface operations.

Also as part of Phase 1, Turkey agreed to host a land-based early warning radar system in Kurecik, in the southeastern Malatya province. That, in turn, will be combined with the NATO command-and-control system, Stavridis said.

“Those three elements come together to provide us with an initial capability to provide some level of defense of Europe against a threat emanating from the Middle East,” Navy Rear Adm. Mark Montgomery, Eucom’s deputy director for plans, policy and strategy, told American Forces Press Service. “That was our most significant ballistic missile defense achievement in 2011.”

Meanwhile, “we are working hard on the Phase 2, 3 and 4 elements” of the plan, Stavridis told the Senate and House armed services committees in March. That includes negotiating agreements with partner countries, particularly Romania and Poland, regarding stationing of the Aegis ballistic missile defense system that will extend the missile shield during Phase 2 of the plan.

Montgomery also reported progress toward developing an AEGIS Ashore land-based interceptor system in Deveselu, Romania, to be completed by 2015. This is a critical element of the Phase 2 rollout, which Romania agreed late last year to host.

Meanwhile, Eucom is working closely with the Polish defense ministry to implement the U.S.-Poland ballistic missile defense agreement in support of important Phase 3 capabilities, Stavridis reported.

“We’ll upgrade the missiles at that point, and we’ll upgrade the command-and-control” with more and increasingly sophisticated overhead sensors, he told Congress. “And then the next step will be 2018, when we’ll add another set of ground interceptors in Poland.”

The final phase of the plan, slated for completion by 2020, will deploy more advanced interceptors designed to counter not only medium and intermediate range missiles, but also potential future intercontinental ballistic missile threats to the United States from the Middle East.

“It is a progression,” Stavridis said of the system. “It is adaptive to the threat, in that we can plug in at any step along the way to continue to improve it, to pace the threat that we see.”

In announcing the missile defense plan three years ago, Obama promised “stronger, smarter and swifter defenses of American forces and America’s allies.”

“It is more comprehensive than the previous program,” he said of the plan. “It deploys capabilities that are proven and cost effective. And it sustains and builds upon our commitment to protect the U.S. homeland against long-range ballistic missile threats, and it ensures and enhances the protection of all our NATO allies.”

NATO endorsed the concept at its November 2010 summit in Lisbon, Portugal, agreeing to expand its missile defense command, control and communications capabilities to protect Europe and encouraging allies to follow the U.S. lead in making voluntary national contributions to the effort.

Based on agreements at the Lisbon summit, Eucom fielded workstations throughout its headquarters and service component headquarters that use a NATO-compatible network able to support the NATO ballistic missile defense mission, officials explained.

The command plans to tie U.S. ships to that network, a step toward increasingly integrated theater sensors, shooters and platforms.

In addition, the Air Force is establishing a joint, combined European Integrated Air and Missile Defense Center in Eisiedlerhof, Germany. Its mission, Stavridis told Congress, will be to educate, develop and refine U.S., partner and allied missile defense capabilities and expertise.

With growing support within NATO to support the mission, Spain, the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, Italy and France are exploring ways to complement it, Stavridis told Congress. He noted that the Dutch are buying ships capable of plugging into the ballistic missile defense architecture, and that all NATO nations now contribute command and control capabilities.

Getting additional commitments for the system is expected to be an agenda topic at next week’s NATO summit. Stavridis told Congress in March he’ll continue to press the Europeans to shoulder a growing role in missile defense.

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen is expected to join in that effort, with the goal of making the system as comprehensive as possible.

“Step by step, NATO’s territorial missile defense is becoming a reality,” he reported in October just before a NATO defense ministers conference in Brussels.

USS Monterey Visits Naples During Inaugural Missile Defense Deployment

By Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Edward Vasquez, Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa/ Commander, U.S. 6th Fleet Public, Affairs

NAPLES, Italy (NNS) -- The Ticonderoga class guided-missile cruiser USS Monterey (CG 61) arrived in Naples, Italy, April 10, during a regularly scheduled port visit.

During the port visit, Vice Adm. Harry B. Harris Jr., Commander, U.S. Sixth Fleet is scheduled to come aboard to speak with the crew.

"This is an important port visit for us because we will meet with Vice Adm. Harris and members of his staff," said Capt. James W. Kilby, Monterey commanding officer. "It is significant because many of the exercises and operations we will be conducting will help define the mission for following European Phased Adaptive Approach (EPAA) ships."

Sailors from Monterey will also have the opportunity to visit Rome, tour the Colosseum, the Circus Maximums, and the Baths of Caracalla during guided tours.

"This is a good time to pull in, our Sailors will get to see Rome and it is just before Easter so Rome should be exciting," said Master Chief Keith Mahaffey, Monterey command master chief. "A lot of our Sailors have never visited Naples before, and I think that this will be one of our best liberty ports for our deployment."

The Monterey is the first U.S. Ship to participate in the European Phased Adaptive Approach for missile defense architecture with NATO members' missile defense capabilities, as well as with the emerging NATO command and control network.

Throughout her deployment, the Monterey will be touring NATO member states and demonstrating the ship's Ballistic Missile Defense capability.

Monterey, homeported out of Norfolk, Va., is on a scheduled six-month deployment in the U.S. Sixth Fleet area of responsibility.

Milestone Nears for European Missile Defense Plan

By Karen Parrish

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, March 2, 2011 – The U.S. plan to defend Europe from a rapidly increasing ballistic missile threat will reach a milestone next week with the first deployment of missile defense technology, a senior Defense Department official said yesterday.

“The ballistic missile threat is real, and it’s now,” said John F. Plumb, the Pentagon’s principal director for nuclear and missile defense policy, adding that the phased, adaptive approach to European missile defense is a capability designed to defend against that threat.

The USS Monterey -- equipped with systems to detect, track, engage and destroy ballistic missiles in flight -- will deploy next week from its home port of Norfolk, Va., for a six-month tour in the U.S. European Command area of responsibility, Plumb said.

The ship will participate in missile defense exercises and help to lay the foundation for future deployments, Plumb said, in “the first demonstration of our commitment to this … in a long series of deployments that will follow.”

President Barack Obama approved the phased, adaptive approach to European ballistic missile defense in 2009, and the NATO alliance agreed to the plan at its November 2010 summit in Lisbon, Portugal.

The approach will begin with existing technology and add more sophisticated systems now in development to build sea- and land-based missile defense systems in Europe throughout the rest of this decade, Plumb said.

“The first phase … involves ships, because we have sea-based missile defense capabilities now, as well as forward-based radar that can provide information to those ships,” he said.

The second phase will begin in 2015, he said, with the deployment of a land-based interceptor site in Romania. The interceptor, the Standard Missile-3 IB, or SM-3 IB, is in development now, Plumb said.

“That will be the first land-based deployment of this type of interceptor, and that will start to provide greater coverage for Europe,” he said.

The SM-3 IA already is deployed on ships around the world, he said, and two other variants of the interceptor, the IIA and IIB, are scheduled to be in place as part of phases 3 and 4 by 2020. Plumb said each version of the interceptor will defend against missiles of greater ranges and speeds.

The ballistic missile threat to Europe from the Middle East, particularly Iran, is a driving force behind the phased, adaptive approach, he said.

“[Iran] continues to pursue more and greater capabilities,” he said. “We need to have a way not only to deter them from using them, but also if deterrence fails to be able to intercept their missiles.”

While the phased, adaptive approach is currently under U.S. European Command’s authority, Plumb said, NATO agreed at the Lisbon summit to establish command-and-control systems allowing the alliance to take the lead in ballistic missile defense on the European continent.

“Europe is a big place,” he said. “The more you can cooperate, and the more assets other nations can contribute, the better the system can function.”

Those contributions may take the form of sensors, interceptors or land for sites, he said.

“The assets we’re deploying … would be the U.S. national contribution to the missile defense of Europe,” Plumb said. “As with any other NATO mission, individual nations voluntarily contribute assets, and [all] would work under a NATO command structure.”

USS Monterey Sailors Earn College Credits While Underway

By Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Sandi Grimnes, USS Monterey (CG 61) Public Affairs

ATLANTIC OCEAN (NNS) -- Sailors on the guided-missile cruiser USS Monterey (CG 61) have the opportunity to earn their degrees while underway through instructor-taught college level courses provided by Central Texas College and distance-learning courses with the Navy College Program Afloat College Education (NCPACE).

The at sea college classes are each three-semester-hour credit classes. There are 21 Sailors currently enrolled in the Business 101 course and an additional 18 enrolled in academic skills math.

Each class is taught three times a week, once in the morning and then repeated that evening for students who were unable to attend because of work or watch, said John Bruce, an instructor with Central Texas College who is currently teaching on board Monterey.

"Central Texas College is a community college and the courses taught on board are freshman and sophomore level that are transferable to the college of the Sailor's choice," said Bruce. "If the Sailor wanted, they could complete an associate degree with NCPACE courses, then complete a bachelor's degree at another college or university."

Another option for Sailors who are continuing their education while deployed is the distance learning courses, said Chief Personnel Specialist (SW) Paul Jiolia. While the instructor-lead classes are typically freshman and sophomore level, the distance learning classes continue through a master's degree.

The distance learning classes are self-paced and the student has 90 days to complete the course, said Jiolia. The course is administered on a CD-ROM, which does not require Internet access, and all exams are proctored.

"It's a great opportunity that takes self-discipline, especially with the distance learning because it's at your own pace," said Jiolia. "Sometimes you get so focused on the mission of your job, it's easy to forget you should be spending time on college everyday."

Monterey has 10 Sailors taking 21 distance-learning classes this deployment, said Jiolia. Each Sailor can take two classes a semester, a total of four during deployment, for only the cost of the books.

"Most Sailors joined the Navy for money for college," said Jiolia. "NCPACE courses gives them the avenue and the tools to continue their education while serving."

This article was sponsored by Navy Books.

U.S. Second Fleet Ships Complete Successful Ballistic Missile Defense Tracking Exercise

From Commander, U.S. 2nd Fleet Public Affairs

NORFOLK, Va. (NNS) -- Three Commander, U.S. Second Fleet ships successfully completed a tracking exercise Jan. 22, off the coast of Virginia using the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) system during Atlantic Trident 2011.

USS Monterey (CG 61), USS Ramage (DDG 61) and USS Gonzalez (DDG 66) all successfully tracked the short-range ballistic missile target that was launched from NASA Wallops Island Flight Facility in Wallops Island, Va. The target missile fell harmlessly into the Atlantic Ocean.

Monterey, an Aegis cruiser, and Ramage, an Aegis destroyer, took turns tracking and simulating engagement of the target while Gonzalez, a guided-missile destroyer, participated by tracking the target.

All three ships were able to successfully track the target, with Monterey and Ramage providing simulated target solutions that would have resulted in a successful intercept. No missiles were fired from the ships as it was a tracking exercise.

Ballistic missile defense is a Navy core mission. The Missile Defense Agency and the Navy have modified 21 Aegis BMD combatants (5 cruisers and 16 destroyers). Of the 21 ships, 16 are assigned to the Pacific Fleet and five to the Atlantic Fleet. The Secretary of Defense announced in 2010 that six more destroyers would be upgraded to the Aegis BMD capability.

Atlantic Trident 2011 is the first live Fleet Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) exercise to take place in the Atlantic.

For more news from Commander, U.S. 2nd Fleet, visit www.navy.mil/local/c2f/.