NATO is deploying a new Patriot missile battery to Turkey’s Incirlik air base, bolstering air defences after recent Iranian missile interceptions.

ANKARA: Turkey’s defence ministry confirmed on Wednesday that NATO is deploying a new Patriot missile battery to the Incirlik air base in the country’s south.

A ministry official stated that the new system was being deployed in addition to an existing Spanish Patriot battery already stationed at the base near Adana.

The ministry did not specify which NATO member nation would be operating the newly deployed PAC-3 system.

This reinforcement follows Turkey’s confirmation last Friday that a third ballistic missile from Iran had been shot down in its airspace by NATO forces since the start of the Middle East conflict.

Following a second such interception earlier, NATO had already deployed Patriot defences to the central Malatya region, home to the Kurecik air base and a US-manned NATO early-warning radar.

The Patriot is a mobile air-defence system designed to counter tactical ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and aircraft.

According to US army data, the PAC-2 version can intercept aircraft and cruise missiles at ranges up to 70 kilometres, while the PAC-3 variant targets ballistic missiles at distances between 20 and 35 kilometres.

 The Sun Malaysia