From NATO: On 1 June, NATO formally opened an expanded theatre missile defence test facility, keeping the programme on track for delivering this year a capability to protect deployed Alliance forces from ballistic missile attacks.
The facility, hosted at the NATO Consultation, Command and Control Agency (NC3A) facilities in Den Haag, has been upgraded to house new prototypes, and will play a key role in major tests scheduled for July. This will begin the last round of major tests and experiments, prior to the first operational capability being handed over to NATO’s commanders.
“This updated infrastructure is significant, representing more advanced capabilities being tested for inclusion in NATO’s theatre missile defence capability,” said Brigadier General Alessandro Pera, head of NATO’s Active Layered Theatre Ballistic Missile Defence (ALTBMD) programme.
The state-of-the-art facility, first opened in 2008, tests the designs for a NATO system that will allow European and US missile defence technologies to work together as part of a NATO ‘theatre missile defence’ system. (graphic: NATO)