NATO to use THAAD in Romania this summer

April 11 (UPI) -- The United States will temporarily deploy its THAAD anti-missile protection system in Romania this summer, U.S. European Command said Thursday.

The land-based THAAD system, which stands for Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, will be used by NATO for its Ballistic Missile Defense systems while the international alliance's existing Aegis Ashore Missile Defense System goes through maintenance and updates starting this summer, European Command said in a news release.

The maintenance and updates are expected to last several weeks, NATO said in a separate news release.

The THAAD system will be based in Naval Support Facility Deveselu in southern Romania and will be controlled by NATO, U.S. European Command said.

NATO said the THAAD system will be used to scout for threats outside of the European and Atlantic regions.

"Aegis Ashore Romania is an important part of the European Phased Adaptive Approach, which is designed to protect European NATO allies and U.S. deployed forces in the region against the growing threat posed by the proliferation of ballistic missiles outside the Euro-Atlantic area," European Command said. "This site provides a defensive capability to deter future conflicts, and to defend ourselves, and our NATO allies, should deterrence fail."