Spokesman for the Polish Ministry of Defence confirmed the fact that construction works, related to the Redzikowo missile defence system base, are planned to begin soon, with an opening event planned to take place on Friday, 13th May. The US infrastructure is to gain readiness two years later. The Romanian base, being a part of the European missile defence system, is going to be formally announced to be ready for operations in May this year.

Within the framework of the 3rd phase of the European Phased Adaptive Approach programme, the Redzikowo Air Base near Slupsk is going to become a home for the land component of the US missile defence system in Europe. Standard Aegis Ashore system is armed with the SM-3 Block IB/IIA missiles, complemented with an AN/SPY-1 radar, used to detect and track ballistic missiles. Moreover, the infrastructure also includes elements of the command and control system for the missile defence suite. Around 300 US troops, along with ca. 250 Polish soldiers, are going to be stationed within the Redzikowo complex.

The base in Redzikowo is going to be one of the building blocks of the Aegis Ashore missile defence system which is expected to reach its readiness by 2018. The main purpose of the Aegis system elements in Romania and Poland is to act as a protective measure against the ballistic missiles launched in the Middle East.