| Hat tip to Galrahn at Information Dissemination. |
Ballistic-missile defense warships have become the keystone in a new national strategy to shield European allies from potential attacks by Iran. Rather than field sensors and missiles on the ground in Poland and the Czech Republic, the U.S. will first maintain a presence of at least two or three Aegis BMD ships in the waters around Europe, starting in 2011.
That announcement -- which defined a new mission for the surface force: continent defense -- immediately raised many questions that Navy planners must answer over the next two years: