An Italian SAMP/T air defense system has been deployed in central Turkey as part of NATO’s permanent defense plan aimed at strengthening the Alliance’s air defense capabilities, announced the Turkish Ministry of Defense on Thursday, reports EFE, as relayed by Agerpres.
The system was installed at the command center of an air base in the Konya province, located in the heart of Anatolia.
SAMP/T is a ground-to-air missile defense system developed by Italy and France in the 1990s and operational since 1997.
According to the Turkish Ministry of Defense, the project, named “Steel Dome”, aims to strengthen Turkey’s multilayered air and missile defense capabilities, to increase its deterrence capacity, and to ensure national security at the highest level.
In addition, Turkey continues to develop its own air defense systems in response to the ever-changing security environment, added the Turkish government, which, next month, will host the NATO leaders’ summit in Ankara.