Express:
More than 30 countries have or are building ballistic missiles capable of firing a nuclear warhead thousands of miles across the globe, Nato has warned.
The stark warning from the head of the world’s most powerful military alliance comes in the wake of fresh H-bomb tests by North Korea and boasts by Islamic State that they are seeking to acquire a nuclear device.
The military alliance’s latest review of security threats, released today, highlights the “proliferation of ballistic missiles” as a “threat to Allied populations, territory and forces”.
General Secretary Jens Stoltenberg, author of the report, said: “Over 30 countries around the world have, or are acquiring, ballistic missile technology that could eventually be used to carry not just conventional warheads, but also weapons of mass destruction.”
While he stopped short of naming individual nations – or non-state terror groups – developing the technology, defence experts believe China, Iran and Russia are leading the way.
Prompted by fears of a proliferation of ballsitc weapons, Nato agreed to extend its own missile defence system in 2010.
Since then, four US Navy ships have been deployed in Europe and Patriot surface-to-air missiles have been stationed along the frontier with Russia.
Both Poland and Romania will welcome US-made missile interceptors in the coming years – largerly in response to Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine.
Germany is also in the process of acquiring the Medium Extended Air Defence System ground-based air and missile defence system, which will one day replace the Patriot system.
Denmark, the Netherlands and Turkey have similar plans for missile defence systems.
Mr Stoltenberg said: “The proliferation of these capabilities does not necessarily mean there is an immediate intent to attack Nato, but it does mean that the alliance has a responsibility to take the possibility into account as part of its core task of collective defence.
“Nato’s ballistic missile defence capability is meant to protect its European populations, territory and forces.
“It is a purely defensive capability, established in light of threats from outside the Euro-Atlantic area.
“Nato missile defence draws on voluntary contributions from allies, linking together national satellites, radars, ships and interceptor missiles, at sea and on land, under Nato command for specific tasks and periods.”
