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The Launch Modular Enclosure enables Aegis Ashore's vertical launch system to operate as if it were on a ship, as the original system is. Source: US Missile Defense Agency
A US Navy (USN) official told IHS Jane's on 22 December that the first land-based Aegis capability is expected to be ready for NATO initial operational capability (IOC) declaration by the third quarter of 2016.
Based in Deveselu, Romania, the USN's first Aegis Ashore installation is meant to provide ballistic missile defence (BMD) capability as part of the United States' European Phased Adaptive Approach (EPAA) - a plan to protect NATO allies and deployed US forces in the region against current and emerging ballistic missile threats from the Middle East.
Romanian government officials transferred the major military components of the Aegis Ashore Missile Defence System (AAMDS) to the USN's 6th Fleet on 18 December, when the system had achieved technical capability declaration.
A key part of the EPAA's Phase II, Aegis Ashore Romania now falls under the purview of US Naval Forces Europe-Africa/US 6th Fleet, similar to an Aegis destroyer in the USN fleet. However, unlike its sea-going counterparts, Aegis Ashore has the singular mission of BMD.
"Sailors will train and conduct exercises until they and the systems are fully certified, similar to conducting sea trials with a new ship," said Commander Pam Rawe, public affairs officer for US 6th Fleet. "By summer 2016, Aegis Ashore in Deveselu is scheduled to be ready for a NATO initial operational capability declaration."
US 6th Fleet will test and evaluate Aegis Ashore in preparation for integration into NATO's BMD architecture, which includes the Army Navy/Transportable Radar Surveillance System (AN/TPY-2) in Turkey, USN and NATO BMD-capable guided-missile destroyers, SM-3 Block IA interceptors, and a command-and-control network operated from Ramstein Air Base, Germany.
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