Nato’s early warning radar system to be deployed in Turkey
An early warning radar system will be deployed in Turkey within the NATO missile defense program, Foreign Ministry spokesman said. It is believed that the radar will be operational by the end of 2011 according to Pentagon and located either in the eastern province of Malatya or in the southern province of Adana
In this file photo Israeli soldiers stand near a rocket shield system. The radar system, which will be deployed in Turkey, will likely be stationed at a military installation in southern Adana or eastern Malatya. REUTERS photoTurkey said Friday it would host an early-warning radar system on its territory as part of NATO’s missile defense program, ending its months-old quandary on whether to join the project.
A Turkish high-ranking military officer will be posted to the NATO’s anti-ballistic team to be stationed in Germany. The radar system will likely be stationed at a military installation in Adana or Malatya, though sources said they won’t identify its precise location. The system will be operational by the end of 2011, the Pentagon said on Friday.
“It is anticipated that the early-warning radar system allocated by the United States to NATO will be deployed in our country,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Selçuk Ünal said in a written statement released Friday. NATO’s new strategic concept, approved last year in Lisbon, calls for the development of an anti-ballistic defense system in response to growing threats from Iran and North Korea. Turkey pushed its allies not to single out Iran as the sole threat against NATO and gave its approval to the concept only after its pre-conditions were met. Turkey’s announcement early Friday came hours after the Wall Street Journal broke the news on Ankara’s decision to join the project.
A Turkish diplomatic source said a site had already been identified for the radar at a Turkish military installation but added that its location would not be made public. According to speculation, however, it is believed that the radar will be located either in the eastern province of Malatya or in the southern province of Adana.
US nixes Turkey’s Israel concerns
There were two main concerns for Turkey before joining the project. The first one was that despite the fact that radar would be deployed at a location in Turkey, a small piece of its territory in eastern Anatolia close to Iran would not be covered by the shield. Turkey demanded the deployment of anti-ballistic Patriot missiles in this region to fully secure its territory. Turkey’s second concern was that data collected at the radar site could be shared real-time with Israel. The WSJ said the U.S. officials told Turkish counterparts that “the U.S. has a ‘separate and robust’ missile defense relationship with Israel, where the U.S. based high-powered X-Band radar in 2008 to bolster Israel’s missile defenses.”
However, it also said data from any U.S. radars around the world could be fused with other data to maximize the effectiveness of its missile defenses. Still, as Turkey announced its decision to deploy radar in its territory, it seems a deal has been reached on Ankara’s specific concern regarding Israel.
September 2, 2011
SOURCE: TURKISH DAILY NEWS
