Operation Anatolian Protector has started
(BRUSSELS2) The vehicles carrying the Patriot missiles left the Netherlands and Germany. A convoy of 150 vehicles (6 x 25) covered the 300 km that separated the barracks from Peace Peel port. They boarded the first from the port of Eemshaven, the second from Travemünde (Lübeck) on board the ferry Sweden Seaways from DFDS. They should arrive in Turkey around January 21 or 22. The German soldiers will be stationed at Kahramanmaras, between the Incirlink airbase and the city of Diyarbakir. The Dutch will be stationed in Adana. The Americans in Gaziantep.
Precursors
This Tuesday (January 8), 50 "precursor elements" - 30 Dutch and 20 German - boarded two German C-130 Hercules at Eindhoven airport. Destination: Turkey and the Incirlink air base to prepare the missile installations. 270 Dutch soldiers should follow. And a few more German soldiers. The costs of the missions are estimated at 42 million euros, for the Netherlands, according to the Volkskrant. The German contingent comprises a total of 350 soldiers and consists mainly of two Air Force Patriot fire units. Each fire unit includes up to eight eight-missile launchers, a fire control station and a multi-function radar.
Objective: to prevent any attack and prevent the escalation of the conflict
The objective of this deployment is solely "defensive" as the various political and military leaders of the Atlantic Alliance have recalled in all tones. As Dutch General Tom Middendorp explained, it is a matter of protecting Turkish territory and population against the threat of Scud missiles which, with a range “of several hundred kilometers, can easily reach Turkish cities. Prevention is always better than cure. And that is why our soldiers are leaving for Turkey: to prevent a Syrian missile, whether or not by accident, from ending up in a major Turkish city.. But — he added — we are also going to Türkiye to prevent the conflict from escalating. » For the military, showing your teeth prevents creating more violence. This is truly the strength of our armed forces. »
