NATO looking to boosting missile defence at Turkey airbase

NATO is looking into reinforcing further its ballistic missile defence capacity in Turkey against threats from neighbouring Iran, according to people familiar with the matter.

The military alliance already deployed a battery in eastern Turkey to protect an early-warning radar used to track missiles across the Middle East.

It’s now considering sending another Patriot missile-defence system to bolster an airbase where American troops are stationed, one of the people said. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the planning.

The potential reinforcement would follow NATO’s interception of missiles fired from Iran, which people familiar with the Turkish government’s thinking have said is testing the alliance’s capacity to respond.

A US AN/TPY-2 radar at Kurecik in eastern Turkey, one of the closest early-warning systems to the Islamic Republic, was likely the main destination of at least one of the projectiles, those people said.

NATO couldn’t immediately be reached for comment. The Turkish Defence Ministry declined to comment.

A senior military official has made clear NATO will continue to adjust to threats.

Iran sought to degrade US early warning systems since the start of the war, including a strike that destroyed a similar AN/TPY-2 radar in Jordan, a key sensor used to direct US missile defence batteries in the Gulf.

Another potential target is Turkey’s southern Incirlik Air Base, which hosts NATO forces including hundreds of US personnel. 

The alliance may deploy one PAC-3 battery at Incirlik, where a Spanish PAC-2 interceptor has been deployed for more than a decade, one of the people said. The PAC-2 systems are designed to be used against aircraft and cruise missiles and they may fail to intercept ballistic missiles, they said. 

NATO’s air and missile defence assets in the eastern Mediterranean have intercepted three missiles launched from Iran since March 4. One of the interceptions on March 13 took place over Incirlik, which was used in the past for operations against Islamic State and to enforce a no-fly zone over northern Iraq against Saddam Hussein. BLOOMBERG