A US Patriot air defence system has been deployed in Turkey’s Eastern Anatolian province of Malatya, the country’s defence ministry said on March 10. The announcement comes in the wake of two Iran war incidents in which missiles apparently heading for targets on Turkish territory were shot down by Nato.

The ministry said the Patriot system was being prepared for operational readiness.

“We are in consultations with Nato and our allies. In addition to the national measures we have implemented, Nato has enhanced air and missile defence measures,” it added.

It is well known that there is a shortage of available Patriot systems outside of the US, particularly given Ukraine’s needs in its war with Russia. It was not immediately clear where the Patriot system or its batteries were being redeployed from.

Kurecik in spotlight again

The only Nato base in Malatya province is Kurecik radar base. The facility provides vital ​data to Nato. It was used in identifying the two ballistic ⁠missiles that flew toward Turkey, Reuters reported.

Iran was accused of firing those missiles, but it has denied targeting Turkey and has claimed the missiles were launched in “false flag” operations run as provocations designed to make Iran look like the guilty party. Iran has offered to help Turkey in a joint investigation of the source of the missiles.

Turkey has warned Tehran that violations of its airspace are unacceptable.

Speaking after a cabinet meeting on March 9, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkey’s main goal is to keep the country out of the “blaze” of the Iran war.

Nato on duty

On March 5, following the first missile incident, Nato said in a written statement that it is well-postured to defend allied populations against ballistic missile threats.

On March 6, Nato updated its webpage on its ballistic missile defence mechanism.

Nato officials, meanwhile, have been reiterating that the defence alliance’s Article 5 clause will not be triggered. Under Article 5, Turkey, as a Nato member under attack by a third party would be entitled to all other Nato members coming to its defence.

Iran reiterates denials

Iran’s president and foreign minister held phone calls with their Turkish counterparts. They both reiterated Iran’s denials that the Iranian government was responsible for the firing of the two missiles, saying they did not originate in Iran.

Transferred from Korea?

The deployment of the Patriot system comes amid reports that the US was looking into redeploying military assets ​including Patriot hardware stationed in ⁠South Korea, Reuters also noted.

“Emerging leader”

Reuters also described Turkey as “an emerging leader in the global defence industry that ​has the ⁠[Nato] alliance's second-largest army”. At the same time, it noted that the country lacks its own fully-fledged air defences, despite development efforts, and relied on Nato air defences stationed in the ⁠Eastern Mediterranean ​Sea to shoot down both the missiles that were flying into Turkish airspace.

Reuters rarely employs sarcasm.

Nato bases in Turkey

Since flashpoints in the Syria conflict that took place in 2013, Spain has deployed Patriot batteries at Incirlik air base in southern Turkey in Adana province on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast, while Italy has deployed SAMP/T systems at Kurecik. Nato runs patrols with AWACS surveillance planes over Turkish territory.

Assets of the US Air Force are stationed ​at Incirlik base, according to Reuters. Turkey and the US have denied that Incirlik played any role in the war on Iran.

Nato also uses many other military bases in Turkey in cooperation with the Turkish defence ministry.