U.S. Army Patriot equipment awaits use during an exercise at Fort Hood, Texas, on Nov. 6, 2025. A similar system drawn from NATO Allied Air Command at Ramstein Air Base in Germany is being stationed at Incirlik Air Base in southern Turkey in the wake of Iranian airstrikes against fellow NATO member Turkey. (Christopher Neu/U.S. Army)
A Patriot air defense system is being deployed to a strategic Turkish air base used by U.S. forces, as allies continue to bolster their defenses in the wake of Iranian airstrikes against NATO member Turkey.
The Patriot system, drawn from NATO Allied Air Command at Ramstein Air Base in Germany, is being stationed at Incirlik Air Base alongside an existing Spanish Patriot system, state news agency Anadolu reported Wednesday.
It cited Rear Adm. Zeki Akturk, a Turkish defense ministry spokesman, who gave a news briefing at the base. Incirlik is near the major city of Adana and sits close to the eastern Mediterranean Sea.
The move comes one week after NATO sent another Patriot unit to Malatya province, which hosts a critical NATO radar that is manned by U.S. troops. The radar is part of the alliance’s integrated air defense system.
Since the start of the U.S.-Israeli military campaign against Iran on Feb. 28, at least three missiles have been directed at Turkey, all of which were intercepted by allied air defenses.
NATO hasn’t indicated which units have been deployed to support air defense efforts in Turkey, but several allied countries possess the Patriot system.
The U.S. has a Patriot unit in Baumholder, Germany, that over the years has mobilized for air defense missions in support of allies in places such as Poland and Turkey.
NATO’s missile defense system incorporates a range of capabilities, bringing together U.S. Aegis Ashore sites in Romania and Poland as well as U.S Navy destroyers out of Rota, Spain.
