The newest U.S. anti-missile station in Redzikowo, Poland, will be home to the Aegis Ashore Ballistic Missile Defense System(AABMDS) mission in the coming years and is expected to be completed sometime in late 2020.

Located in the northwestern part of Poland, the Navy’s land-based missile defense system is being built just outside the town of Redzikowo and is a result of the 2009 initiative called the European Phased Adaptive Approach(EPAA).

The EPAA calls for using Ballistic Missile Defense capabilities to defend Europe against threats originating from outside the Euro-Atlantic area.

Naval Support Facility Redzikowo is a tangible demonstration of the U.S. commitment to collective security in Europe. It is the Navy’s newest installation, the first U.S. installation in Poland and is co-located with the Redzikowo Force Protection Battalion at the Redzikowo Military Base.

The Aegis Ashore site at Redzikowo is Phase III of the European Phased Adaptive Approach, the United States’ voluntary national contribution to NATO Ballistic Missile Defense. Aegis Ashore in Poland expands the defensive capability that protects NATO European territories, populations and forces from ballistic missile threats emanating from outside the Euro-Atlantic area.

The system is designed to detect, track, engage and destroy ballistic missiles in flight. It uses the Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) interceptor, which does not carry an explosive warhead, to intercept and destroy an enemy missile by colliding with it at high speed.