NATO COMMANDS PATRIOT BATTERIES IN TURKEY
NATO AFSOUTH Press Release
Naples, 06 March 2003. The Commander in Chief Allied Forces Southern
Europe (CINCSOUTH) Admiral Gregory G Johnson, US Navy, has assumed control
of the three Dutch batteries of Patriot ground-based, air defence missile
systems, which have deployed to Diyarbakir and Batman, South Eastern Turkey.
The deployment follows the NATO Defence Planning Committee’s authorisation
to implement, as a matter of urgency, defensive measures to assist Turkey.
The batteries were transported by sea from The Netherlands to the port
of Iskenderun and travelled overland to their current locations. The Netherlands
Patriot units received additional enhanced missiles provided by the German
Air Force.
The Patriot system’s capability is to intercept and destroy Tactical
Ballistic Missiles as well as hostile aircraft that are violating the
integrity of the Turkish and Alliance airspace.
The Commander Allied Air Forces Southern Europe, Lt. Gen. Glen W. Moorhead
III, USAF, will exercise command and control over NATO air defence assets
currently deployed in Turkey through the Commander of Combined Air Operation
Center 6, Lt. Gen. Faruk Comert, Turkish Air Force. CINCSOUTH is the Joint
Force Commander for this deployment.
Two NATO E3A AWACS aircraft deployed to their Forward Operating Base at
Konya, Turkey last week, where they started routine peacetime surveillance
flights on 26 February 2003. The Alliance presence is purely to contribute
to the defence of one of its members, Turkey, in accordance with its obligations
under the North Atlantic Treaty.
For further information and images please visit our web site http://www.afsouth.nato.int
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