This update, which has been taking place across the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defence system fleet, did not provide any offensive capability to the Aegis Ashore missile defence system.

The update is part of the United States European Phased Adaptive Approach to ballistic missile defence, which was announced in September 2009.

During the update, the United States fulfilled its commitment to NATO's Ballistic Missile Defence by the temporary deployment of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system to Deveselu in Romania.

The deployment of the THAAD battery to Deveselu was temporary while Aegis Ashore Romania was offline. The THAAD system will now be redeployed as planned.

NATO's Aegis Ashore remains focused on potential threats from outside the Euro-Atlantic area. It is purely a defensive system.