The US is considering supplying critical air defense systems (THAAD) to NATO allies in eastern Europe as anxiety mounts that the Russians could consider launching missiles or aircraft against the alliance’s eastern flank, according to a US official familiar with current administration thinking.

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“The US is considering a range of capabilities,” the official said.

There is no specific plan yet, but the idea centers around the concern that Russian missiles or aircraft might deliberately attack targets inside NATO territory at some point if Russian President Vladimir Putin decides those nations are a risk to his invasion because of their support for Ukraine. And because of close proximity of the airspace, there is also concern that air defense be available if there is inadvertent straying into NATO airspace. The establishment of a US Russia so-called deconfliction line was in part to address those worries. But there is a sense an umbrella of air defense is needed.

Because of the defensive nature of these systems, the US will emphasize that the Russians should have no concerns. The most likely systems that could be deployed by the US are likely to be the Patriot and the THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) system which have successfully been used in the Middle East to help shoot down incoming ballistic missiles. The US estimates that Russia has already fired some 600 missiles since the invasion began.