US Ballistic Missile Defense Site at Deveselu, Romania Celebrates 10 Years

The anniversary ceremony of the 99 Deveselu Military Base and the decoration of the unit’s battle flag took place on Friday, April 29, in the presence of the Secretary of State for Defense Policy, Planning and International Relations, Simona Cojocaru, and the Chief of the Defense Staff, General Daniel Petrescu.

The event was also attended by David Muniz, ad-interim chargé d’affaires of the United States of America in Romania, and representatives of local and county public authorities.

The USA and Romania jointly selected the airbase at Deveselu to host a U.S. land-based SM-3 interceptor ballistic missile defense system (also referred to as the Aegis Ashore site). The Agreement between the United States of America and Romania on the Deployment of the United States Ballistic Missile Defense system in Romania was signed in September 2011.

In his speech on the 10th anniversary of the founding of the Deveselu base, Secretary of State Simona Cojocaru congratulated the commanders, the military, and civilian personnel. They, for a decade, have dedicated themselves to building a precious, strategic unit for Romanian Army.

The 99 Deveselu Military Base is a very clear example of the solid relationship between Romania and the United States of America. The Romanian and American military worked together to implement a unique, ambitious and relevant project for European and Euro-Atlantic security. Romania’s decision to participate in the US missile shield project, now integrated into NATO structures, was a crucial moment of the strategic partnership between our countries and an extremely important stage of the Allied collective defense efforts.

Secretary of State Simona Cojocaru

The Chief of Defense stated that the anti-missile system from Deveselu, a symbolic project for Romania, the USA, and NATO, is the result of the selflessness of the Romanian and American military, who built and maintained and developed a relevant state-of-the-art defensive capability. The Aegis Ashore missile defense system in Europe is a historic achievement and benchmark in the series of significant accomplishments of the Romania-US strategic partnership.

The evolution of the security environment has confirmed, through the aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, that the threat of proliferation and the use of ballistic missiles can be translated into reality. The missile defense system, which is not a threat to third parties, is a necessity in the Allied security architecture.

General Daniel Petrescu

During the ceremony, the Battle Flag of the 99 Deveselu Military Base was decorated with the Order “Military Virtue” in the rank of Knight, with the sign of peace, for the military, a distinction conferred by a decree signed on Thursday, April 28, by the President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, “as a sign of appreciation of the important results obtained by the unit’s personnel in fulfilling the specific missions, for the contribution brought to the promotion of the image of the Romanian Army.”

Photo and video source: Romanian Defense Ministry