NATO Pledges $1 Billion For Missile Defense System

To ensure the secure operation of the European missile defense system, NATO members have pledged $1 billion to provide more support. “At the Lisbon summit, NATO heads of state and government also decided to expand the scope of the NATO Active Layered Theater Ballistic Missile Defense (ALTBMD) program to serve as the command, control, and communications network to support this new capability,” Frank A. Rose, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, Bureau of Arms Control, Verification and Compliance, said at the 8th International Conference on Missile Defense in Paris on Tuesday. “NATO allies have committed to investing over $1 billion for command, control, and communications infrastructure to support NATO missile defense,” he said. In 2010, Russia and NATO agreed to cooperate on the so-called European missile defense system at the Lisbon summit. Although NATO insists there should be two independent systems that exchange information, Russia advocates a joint system with full-scale operability.