NATO installs X-band radar in Turkey to monitor Iran missile launches

Special to WorldTribune.com

ANKARA — Turkey has reported the installation of an advanced U.S.-origin radar for NATO’s ballistic missile defense shield.

Officials said NATO oversaw the installation of the AN/TPY-2 X-band radar at a military facility in the Turkish province of Malatya, about 620 kilometers southeast of Ankara. They said the radar was being operated by both U.S. and Turkish military personnel.

“The missile defense radar has begun operations,” an official said.

Early warning radar device X-band, AN/TPY-2.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry has confirmed the installation of the X-band radar, meant to monitor ballistic missile launches in neighboring Iran. The Teheran regime has warned that the BMD platform would be deemed a target in any war between the West and Iran.

On Jan. 17, the Turkish daily Zaman reported that Turkish intelligence determined an Iranian plot to attack the U.S. embassy and consulates throughout the country in retaliation for the NATO radar. Zaman said the warning of a strike by either Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps or the Lebanese-based Hizbullah was relayed to police in all 81 districts and called on authorities to monitor the arrival of foreigners.

The sources said AN/TPY-2, produced by the U.S. company Raytheon, began operations on Jan. 1, 2012. They said Turkey has imposed strict limitations on the use of data from the radar, including a ban on non-NATO members such as Israel.

Turkey has demanded U.S. compensation for the deployment of the X-band radar. The sources said Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan has requested U.S. military aid as well as the sale of the Reaper combat unmanned aerial vehicle, a platform long denied by Washington.

One U.S. Republican presidential candidate, Texas Gov. Rick Perry, said Turkey was moving away from its commitment to NATO. Perry said Ankara was being ruled by “what many would perceive to be Islamic terrorists.”

“Turkey joined NATO while the governor was still two years old,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry said on Jan. 17. “It is a member that has made important contributions to the trans-Atlantic alliance’s conflict-full history. It is among countries that are at the front lines in the fight against terrorism.”

via NATO installs X-band radar in Turkey to monitor Iran missile launches | World Tribune.