Aegis Moves Ashore

The Navy has formally established the Aegis Ashore Missile Defense System in Romania as part of the Obama administration's Phased Adaptive Approach to ballistic missile defense in Europe, according to an Aug. 14 memo from the office of the chief of naval operations. The memo, which stems from the Romanian Ballistic Missile Defense Agreement signed last September, establishes a subject shore command effective Oct. 1, complete with a commanding officer. The Navy hopes to install an Aegis Ashore site in Romania by 2015 and a site in Poland by 2018.