ANKARA, May 20 (Reuters) – Turkey said on Wednesday that Germany would send it a Patriot missile defence system for a six-month deployment from June to replace a system deployed as part of NATO measures in southeast Turkey to bolster air defences amid the war in Iran.
In March, Ankara said a U.S. Patriot system was deployed to southeast Turkey, near a NATO radar base, in the face of missile threats from Iran. NATO defences shot down four ballistic missiles launched from Iran during the war.
“In addition to the Spanish Patriot air defence system currently deployed in our country, one of the two additional Patriot systems deployed by NATO due to the conflicts between the U.S., Israel, and Iran will be replaced by a German system,” the Turkish Defence Ministry said in a statement.
“This replacement is planned to be completed in June, and the system is expected to remain operational for approximately six months,” it said, adding security evaluations will continue in coordination with allies.
Turkey, which has NATO’s second-largest army, has in recent years taken significant steps to reduce its reliance on external suppliers in the defence industry. However, despite its efforts, it still lacks comprehensive air defences and relies on NATO systems deployed in the region for support.
(Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu; Editing by Daren Butler, Aidan Lewis)
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