European Defense Update

Turkey Agrees to Host European BMD Radar

Turkey has agreed to host an early warning radar as part of NATO’s missile defense system aimed at countering ballistic missile threats from neighboring Iran, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said Friday. While NATO leaders agreed in 2010 to implement an anti-missile system over Europe, to protect against Iranian ballistic missiles, Turkey remained a stumbling block, due to its insistence not to name Iran as a threat. The proposed system will include the radar station in South-East Turkey and interceptor sites in Romania and Poland. All assets would be linked to the missile defense system to be operated and owned collectively by the alliance.