Ballistic missiles pose increasing threat worldwide. They are powerful means of warfare, but can also be used as an instrument of deterrence, political blackmail and coercion. The United States sustain strong commitment to the development of the missile defense to limit the eff ect of expanding, more and more sophisticated missile arsenals. This is considered very important if the United States are to maintain political and military freedom of action, especially in troubled regions. The European countries of NATO perceive the missile threat somewhat diff erently. Most of them agree that it exist but, as they do not conduct intensive policies in troubled regions, they do not believe the threat is imminent. That is why, on the one hand NATO has embraced missile defense as one of the most important goals, but on the other European members are not eager to pay huge cost of robust defensive eff ort. Thus, the US will bear lion’s share of European missile defense burden, making Europe’s security more and more tied to American strategic goals and depended on US military capabilities. This is surely augmenting factor, as far as transatlantic security ties are concerned.