Ceremonial opening of the US missile base in Redzikowo, part of NATO’s missile defense system and part of the US European Phased Adaptive Approach (EPAA) program, took place in November 2024. This is the first permanent installation of the United States Armed Forces in Poland. The opening ceremony was attended by the President Andrzej Duda, the Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, the Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski, as well as US officials and the NATO Secretary General.
By design, the Redzikowo base is intended to protect the US and its European allies from ballistic missile attacks, mainly from Iran. The base contains the Aegis Ashore system, which is a land-based version of the Aegis anti-missile system used on ships and designed for defense against ballistic missiles. Aegis Ashore consists of the AN/SPY-1 radar, Mk 41 VLS launcher and SM-3 (Standard Missile-3) anti-ballistic missiles. SM-3 are designed to shoot down ballistic missiles in the middle of their flight, i.e. outside the Earth’s atmosphere, at the range from 1000 to 5500 km. In addition to the Aegis Ashore installations, the base is equipped with the AN/SPY-1D(V) long-range radar station and 24 interceptor missiles RIM-161 Standard Missile 3 Block IIA. These missiles can combat enemy missiles in the peak and terminal phases of flight using hit-to-kill technology, which destroys the target through a direct hit using kinetic energy.
The Redzikowo base is the second land-based component of the Aegis Ashore system in Europe, with the first facility of this type operating in Romania since 2016.
With its advanced technology, the Redzikowo base is an important element in NATO’s missile defense system and strengthens the region’s security. Construction of the base was initiated in 2008 by then US President George W. Bush. After numerous delays it reached operational readiness in December 2023 and was handed-over to the US Navy. The total cost of building the base was about $900 million, with unit cost of SM-3 Block IIA interceptor missiles at $38 million.
