Romania wants to acquire together with other NATO member states “Arrow 3” and “Patriot” anti-aircraft defense systems

Romania is one of the 14 NATO member countries that signed the letter of intent for the joint acquisition of air defense systems, such as the one developed by Israel, “Arrow 3” and the American one, “Patriot”.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced at the end of the summer, the project for a common defense against possible air attacks.

According to information from several publications, it appears that the European Air Defense Shield, or Skyshield, will be equipped with the Arrow 3 missile interception system, originally designed and implemented by Israel.

The Arrow 3 is an anti-ballistic missile designed to intercept long-range projectiles and neutralize them from a safe distance. The Arrow 3 interceptors are designed to fly beyond Earth’s atmosphere, where their warheads detach, hitting targets at high altitude. Thus, it could destroy, at a safe height, any missiles with a nuclear charge.

“The placement of such anti-missile batteries – and the corresponding radars – in several countries would allow a defense of the European sky – complete and effective, and at low costs, than if each country were to build its own protection system.”

This is what Chancellor Scholz advocated, who announced that Germany will invest massively in anti-aircraft defense in the coming years, in a way, however, that will allow other states the opportunity to participate right from the start.

Olaf Scholz: “Vladimir Putin and those who follow him have made one thing very clear – this war is not only against Ukraine. They see their war against Ukraine as part of a larger crusade. A crusade against liberal democracy, a crusade against the rules-based international order, a crusade against freedom and progress, a crusade against our way of life, and a crusade against what Putin calls the ‘collective West’ – that is, all of us.”

The signing ceremony of the letter of intent for the so-called Skyshield, the shield in the sky, took place at the NATO headquarters in Brussels. Participating countries are Germany, Great Britain, Slovakia, Norway, Latvia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Finland, Lithuania, Netherlands, Romania and Slovenia.

Not everyone took up Scholz’s offer, however. France and Poland have already rejected it. While Poland has said it will instead create its own air defense system, France relies heavily on the deterrent effect of its own nuclear arsenal, rather than opting for conventional anti-ballistic missile systems.

Lloyd Austin, US Security Secretary: “The United States is absolutely committed to its Article Five commitments, we are committed to defending every inch of NATO territory if and when there is a threat.”

Defense ministers from the Alliance met for the second day in Brussels, discussing the accession of Finland and Sweden; but also about the annual maneuvers that test the readiness of the nuclear forces. Exercises codenamed “Steadfast Noon” are scheduled for next week. American strategic bombers, stationed in Europe, will also fly without having nuclear warheads on board.

Ben Wallace, UK Defense Minister: “This is a routine exercise and it’s all about preparation. Today’s NATO meeting is about making sure we are ready for anything. It is the mission of the Alliance to make sure that the 30 partners are prepared, together, for everything that can happen”.

Canceling these maneuvers because of the war in Ukraine would send a very wrong signal – said the NATO Secretary General

On the other hand, a senior NATO official said last night that if Russia were to use tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine, it would almost certainly trigger a physical response from many allies. But it will not be a response with nuclear weapons – said the French president. And not only him.

Josep Borrell: “Putin says he is not bluffing. Well, neither the European Union and its member states, nor the US, nor NATO are bluffing. And any nuclear attack against Ukraine will create a response, NOT a nuclear response. But such a strong response on the military side, that the Russian army will be extremely hard hit”.

In a series of threats coming from the Kremlin, Aleksandr Venediktov, the deputy secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, threatened that the admission of Ukraine to NATO could lead to a third world war.