DISINFO: US defence companies are restructuring missile defence base in Romania into an offensive base with "Tomahawk" missiles
SUMMARY
Defensive position as attack ramp: Are “Tomahawk” missiles already in Romania? US defence companies are working on expanding their missile defence base in Deveselu, Romania. This allows Washington to station nuclear-capable cruise missiles on European soil. The start of this work coincides with the withdrawal of the United States from the INF Treaty. Could it be that the Romanian “Aegis Ashore” is currently being prepared for other missions? The modernisation work could serve to equip the defensive position in Romania as a launch pad for cruise missiles. In any case, this would correspond to the measures announced by the United States when it withdrew from the INF Treaty. This would mean that, for the first time since the Cold War, “Tomahawk” missiles with a range of 2,500 kilometres would be stationed in Europe. […] Equipped with cruise missiles capable of flying 2,500 km, the American “defensive position” in Romania would be a concrete threat to Russian cities. Moscow must react, must take measures to strengthen national security as a reaction. […] The Romanian leadership must, […] be aware that the redevelopment of the base in Deveselu makes this region a possible target for a nuclear first strike.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about missile defence systems and the INF Treaty. The Aegis missile defence system (Aegis Ashore Ballistic Missile Defence System) is not in violation of the INF Treaty. The US State Department issued a detailed rebuttal of Russian allegations of US non-compliance with the INF Treaty in 2018. According to the U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa (2016): the Aegis Ashore Missile Defence System is part of the European Phased Adapted Approach, designed to protect European NATO allies, and U.S. deployed forces in the region, against current and emerging ballistic threats from the Middle East. U.S. Naval Forces ruled out the possibility of targeting the Russian Federation with the "Aegis Ashore" system. The missile defence stations, also known as "Aegis Ashore", are technically based on the Mk41 launchers (in accordance with the INF Treaty) used on ships, which can also launch cruise missiles. However, they are modified that they can only launch defence missiles and not offensive ground-to-ground missiles, concludes the Research Services of the German Bundestag in 2018 (P.2, in German). The Romanian Defence Minister Teodor Melescanu also reiterated on 7 February 2019 that "Aegis Ashore" was a strictly defensive system.