Aegis Ashore: 'Defensive' missile platform or irritant for itchy trigger fingers

Aegis Ashore: ’Defensive’ missile platform or irritant for itchy trigger fingers? NATO has announced that its ‘purely defensive’ Aegis Ashore missile defense facility in Redzikowo, Poland, is now fully operational and ’mission ready’.  Why Aegis Ashore isn’t a ‘defensive’ weapons platform ◻️ Aegis Ashore is the ground-based version of the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System, a US Navy program that became operational in the mid-2000s and was an outgrowth of Ronald Reagan’s ‘Star Wars’ initiative. The first Aegis Ashore facility was created in Deveselu, Romania, in 2016.  ◻️ The system has two principle interceptor missiles, the SM-3 and the SM-6, with a Glide Phase Interceptor (GPS) in the works for hypersonic defense. The SM-3 and SM-6 have a range of 1,200 km and 240–460 km, respectively, and feature inertial, semi-active, or active radar guidance. Both are fired from the MK 41 VLS platform, which can also fire offensive, nuclear-tipped Tomahawk cruise missiles.  ◻️ The system... Source: Sputnik International