Türkiye mulls SAMP/T, Patriot buy: Defense minister

ANKARA

Türkiye is evaluating potential purchases of SAMP/T and Patriot missile systems as it moves to bolster its air defenses, Defense Minister Yaşar Güler has said said as NATO prepares to gather in Ankara for a summit centered on burden-sharing.

“NATO continues to be an unparalleled and fundamental platform for Euro-Atlantic security and defense. We evaluate the period we are going through not as a crisis, but as a process of adjusting to the changing security environment,” Güler was quoted as saying by daily Hürriyet on June 30.

He said Türkiye is examining all available options to bolster its air defenses, including potential procurement of the SAMP/T system and the Patriot missile system, according to the report.

The remarks come as Ankara prepares to host 32 NATO leaders, along with officials from the Gulf and Asia-Pacific region, for a summit on July 7-8. The gathering is expected to focus on alliance unity, defense spending commitments, support for Ukraine and rising tensions over burden-sharing within the alliance.

Güler said NATO remains central to Euro-Atlantic security, but added that the United States expects European allies and Canada to take on a larger share of responsibility for the continent’s defense. He said that expanded European security initiatives must also include Türkiye in planning and decision-making.

European defense initiatives are “positive in principle but lack inclusivity,” Güler was quoted as saying.

He said Türkiye aims to meet all NATO capability targets by 2029, part of a longer-term modernization plan for its armed forces.

The SAMP/T system, developed by the Franco-Italian Eurosam consortium, is a mobile surface-to-air missile platform seen as a European alternative to the U.S.-made Patriots. It can be integrated into NATO’s air defense architecture and is designed to counter aircraft, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles.

A SAMP/T unit was deployed to a jet base in central Türkiye, officials said on June 18, marking another step in NATO’s expanding air defense presence in the country. The system was stationed in Konya, bringing the number of NATO-linked air defense elements in Türkiye to four.

The move comes as NATO continues to reinforce its eastern and southern flanks, citing instability linked to conflicts in the Middle East. Turkish officials have pointed to ballistic missile threats during the conflict involving Iran, which escalated after U.S. and Israeli strikes.

Earlier this year, Germany announced it would deploy a Patriot missile system unit and about 150 troops to the Turkish city of Malatya, with the deployment expected to be completed by the end of June.

Turkish authorities also confirmed in March that additional Patriot systems had been deployed to the İncirlik and Malatya bases following reported missile threats in recent months.

A joint Turkish-French-Italian effort to co-produce the SAMP/T system was launched in 2017 but suspended in 2019 after Türkiye’s military operations in Syria.