The U.S. military's long-awaited missile defense headquarters is opening in Turkey, a U.S. military website says, for the new facility in the country amid increasingly aggressive rhetoric from Erdogan against Americans.
Lisa Bartel, deputy commander of the U.S. Army's 10th Air and Missile Defense Command, holds up a plaque presented at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new operational headquarters of the 11th Missile Defense in Turkey on May 18, 2023.
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Turks mock US but Biden opens missile defense headquarters in Turkey - Bastion against Russia-Iran
"A new missile defense mission will be implemented at a NATO radar base in southern Turkey this month, with the establishment of a new operational headquarters seven years in the making finally complete.
We are talking about the so-called "Ready Building", where NATO soldiers will be responsible for surveillance and early warning of tactical ballistic missile threats against the alliance, it is also expected to facilitate the daily life of troops operating in a of the US Army's most austere and secret locations," the article states.
"The original building that the command team was working in made it difficult to complete tasks and coordinate with military police and the tactical room," said US Lt.
Nicholas Solis, an officer with the 11th Missile Defense System, said that "everything is condensed into one building and we can do our jobs more efficiently."
The ribbon cutting for the new building took place on May 18. The statement, issued by the 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command, did not specify the exact location of the facility, noting only that it is based in Turkey.
However, the U.S. and Turkish officials have previously spoken publicly about the mission, which is taking place in the small mountain town of Kurecik.
This base was created in 2012, and it concerns NATO's anti-missile defense efforts that focus mainly on threats originating from Iran.
The NATO base, referred to as Site K, has a high-powered radar that is key to NATO's missile defense architecture, in which the US participates.
The critical role of NATO radar in the region has at times been used as diplomatic leverage by Turkey, which has threatened in recent years to cut off US access to the site over disputes over issues such as Ankara's military role. in Syria and the acquisition of Russian S-400 missiles.
But despite periodic ruptures, the US not only remains but expands infrastructure in Kurecik, Turkey.
"The missile defense center, which was officially opened on May 18, will be used as the new headquarters, since our soldiers were previously dispersed in the barbed-wire protected area," the US administration said.
Turkish contractors involved in the project persevered after two major earthquakes in February to bring it to completion, officials added.
Turks and Americans are always blaming each other and they are together and apart they don't do anything.
After yesterday's announcement that Iran had revealed the development of its fourth-generation Khorramshahr ballistic missile named Khaibar, with a range of 2,000 km (1,243 miles) and a 1,500 kg (3,300 lb) warhead, things are certainly changing.
On the other hand, the war in Ukraine is raging and the USA wants to control the Caucasus, also because of the Azeri-Armenian conflict.
On all these fronts, the "super useful" are the Turks, whose state occupies a crucial and more important position than Greece.
