Italy will deploy an air defense system in central Turkey as part of NATO’s defense plan, the Turkish defense ministry said on Tuesday.
“Within the scope of NATO’s standing defense plan, and with the aim of strengthening the alliance’s air defense, one SAMP-T air defense system belonging to Italy will be deployed at the 3rd Main Jet Base Command in Konya,” the ministry said in a statement.
SAMP-T is a mobile surface-to- air missile system developed as a joint Franco-Italian project.
The system can be used against fighter jets, unmanned aerial vehicles, cruise missiles, and certain ballistic missile threats.
NATO forces based in Turkey have shot down ballistic missiles fired from Iran four times since the Middle East war broke out in February, prompting the alliance to deploy a new Patriot missile battery at Incirlik air base in southern Turkey.
NATO chief Mark Rutte said on a visit to Ankara in April that the alliance would do “what’s necessary to defend” its members including Turkey.
Turkey is due to host a NATO summit on July 7-8.
