The Ministry of National Defense of Turkey has announced that NATO is deploying an additional Patriot missile defense unit at its Incirlik Air Base, after several ballistic missiles that Ankara claims were fired by Iran were intercepted while heading toward or within Turkish airspace.
Tehran has denied firing any missiles toward Turkey, claiming that Israel could be behind them as acts of sabotage.
The ministry announced the new missile battery during a briefing on Wednesday at Incirlik, located near the southern city of Adana, stating that it will complement “national-level measures … to provide the security of our airspace and our citizens.”
The ministry did not specify which country’s personnel would operate the PAC-3 system, an advanced land-to-air Patriot unit designed to track missiles.
Incirlik hosts personnel from the United States, Qatar, Spain, and Poland, as well as Turkish troops.
The move comes five days after Turkey said another ballistic missile from Iran was intercepted by NATO forces, the third such incident since the outbreak of war in Iran.
NATO air defenses shot down the first ballistic missile fired toward Turkey on March 4, followed by the interception of a second missile on March 9.
Ankara, NATO’s second-largest military and a neighbor of Iran, has warned Tehran against any further attacks and stated that it has “the right to respond to any hostile action.”
However, it has not indicated any intention to formally call on alliance members for defense.
