Air Force Lt. Gen. Trey Obering III, director of the Missile Defense Agency, told reporters in Washington last week that US efforts to position missile defense assets in Eastern Europe are designed to counter rogue-nation capabilities. He said US officials have been working with allies in the region since 2002 and has just begun bilateral negotiations with Poland and Czech Republic about hosting interceptors and missile defense radar on their territories. “The sites are intended to be part of an integrated, layered system that we have been deploying since 2004,” Obering said.
Amid NATO’s continued push to ramp up air defenses in Eastern Europe, Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall swung by seven allied countries to boost relations last week, including those on Russia’s and Ukraine’s doorstep.