Guess Who's Letting The US Put A Whole Bunch Of These Missiles In Their Country For The Euro Defense Shield?

Robert Johnson 

Dec. 23, 2011

Image: Raytheon

The U.S. State Department announced today that Romania has signed the dotted line on the Ballistic Missile Defense Agreement that welcomes a full SM-3 ballistic missile system into Romania.

A land based component of the European Defense Shield, and part of the Lockheed Martin Aegis Combat System, the RIM-161 Standard Missile 3 (SM-3s) intercept short-range to intermediate range ballistic missiles.

The SM-3s can also be used to take down Low Earth orbit satellites such as when the U.S. sent one to take down the spy satellite USA-193 over the North Pacific in 2008.

Based at Deveselu Air Base near Caracal, Romania the SM-3s are touted as "defense only" missiles that carry no explosive warheads and rely on kinetic energy to destroy incoming warheads.
Up to 200 full-time military and government civilians will be stationed at the 430 acre base to operate the shield.