NATO achieves first step on theatre ballistic missile defence capability

Active Layered Theatre Ballistic Missile Defence (ALTBMD) Programme

From NATO:  On 27 January 2011, NATO’s first ever theatre ballistic missile defence (TBMD) capability has been handed over to NATO’s military commanders. The handover took place at the NATO Combined Air Operations Centre (CAOC) in Uedem, Germany, in the presence of NATO Deputy Secretary General, Ambassador Claudio Bisogniero, and civil and military authorities from NATO and host nation Germany. The NATO Combined Air Operations Centre demonstrated how this interim capability allows NATO commanders, for the first time ever, to do limited ballistic missile defence planning and exchange information with national ballistic missile defence assets. …

 “NATO commanders now have for the first time an initial, limited but integrated ability to manage a defence battle to protect deployed forces against ballistic missile attacks,” said Brigadier General Alessandro Pera, Head of the Active Layered Theatre Ballistic Missile Defence (ALTBMD) Programme Office.  During a short ceremony, he handed over the capability to Major General Mark F. Ramsay, Deputy Chief of Staff Operations & Intelligence, representing the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) as the operational user of the capability.

A rigorous ‘ensemble’ test, held from 6 to 10 December 2010 at the Integration Test Bed hosted at the NATO Consultation, Command and Control Agency (NC3A) facilities in The Hague, verified the ability of the NATO Command and Control system to connect and direct a multinational coalition of weapon and sensor systems in a missile defence battle. …

A Field Test followed immediately after the Ensemble Test at the capability’s first deployed location, the NATO Combined Air Operations Centre in Uedem, Germany. These two tests were the last in a series of tests of this interim capability, which also included ‘live fire’ tests off the coast of Crete, Greece in 2009. “The performance of the capability met its military requirements,” added General Alessandro Pera.

Weapon and sensor systems from five Allies – France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and the United States – took part in the Ensemble Test, along with the NATO operators who will be using the capability.  (graphic: NATO)

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