The ballistic missile defense agreement that the United States and Romania signed in September has entered into force, announced both nations in a joint statement. The pact took effect on Dec. 23, roughly two weeks after the Romanian parliament approved of it. Under the agreement’s terms, the United States will establish a missile interceptor site at Deveselu Air Base near Caracal in southern Romania around 2015. The site will host US-operated, land-based Standard Missile-3 interceptors to help shield Europe, as well as the US homeland, from ballistic missiles emanating from the Middle East. This is part of the United States’ broader European Phased Adaptive Approach BMD system that also will include an SM-3 site in Poland and a missile-tracking radar site in Turkey. Spain also has agreed to port four US Navy missile-defense-capable Aegis ships as part of EPAA.
The Air Force is on track to reach its annual goal of graduating 1,500 new pilots that had proved elusive to this point, one year after the service launched a sweeping overhaul of its undergraduate pilot training program, Air Education and Training Command said Sept. 14.
