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Italy will deploy a SAMP/T air defense system to Türkiye's 3rd Main Jet Base Command in the central Anatolian city of Konya, Türkiye's Ministry of National Defense announced, a move framed as part of NATO's standing defense plan to reinforce the alliance's air defenses. The deployment arrives as the Franco-Italian system attracts mounting international interest from countries seeking alternatives to the U.S.-made Patriot missile system.
"Within the scope of NATO's Permanent Defense Plan, an Italian SAMP/T Air Defense System will be deployed at the 3rd Main Jet Base Command/Konya for the purpose of strengthening alliance air defense," the ministry said in a statement.
The deployment adds to a growing NATO air defense footprint in Türkiye. Patriot batteries are already positioned at the Malatya and Incirlik installations, and domestically developed SIPER batteries have also been deployed at select locations.
Konya, home to one of Türkiye's primary air force commands, is positioned in the country's geographic interior, making it a strategically significant base for managing air defense over a broad area.
The move comes amid NATO's broader agenda to shore up coverage across its southern flank following a series of Iranian ballistic missile launches that entered Turkish airspace earlier this year, with NATO air defense assets intercepting at least four such missiles between March and the end of that month.
The SAMP/T system, developed by the Franco-Italian consortium Eurosam, a joint venture of MBDA and Thales, has been in operational service with France and Italy since 2010 and 2012, respectively.
Designed as a European counterpart to the Patriot, the system is capable of engaging aircraft, cruise missiles, and tactical ballistic missiles. Italy received the next-generation SAMP/T NG variant, equipped with the Leonardo Kronos Grand Mobile High Power radar capable of detecting threats at ranges exceeding 350 kilometers, in January 2026.
The Konya deployment comes as Eurosam's order book gains significant momentum. According to Bloomberg, the consortium is in active discussions with Kuwait and Hungary for SAMP/T NG packages, and approximately 15 countries - including Switzerland and Estonia, which have expressed public interest, are evaluating the system.
That surge in demand is being driven in large part by delays and constrained availability of Patriot systems. Switzerland, which originally selected the Patriot over the SAMP/T in 2021, has since approached suppliers from four countries after the U.S. indefinitely delayed delivery of its ordered batteries.
Denmark went further, formally selecting the SAMP/T NG in September 2025 for its long-range air defense requirement, with deliveries scheduled to begin in 2028, making Copenhagen the system's first export customer.
Eurosam has moved aggressively to capitalize on Patriot's availability problems. The consortium's secretary general told Swiss media that an order placed today could yield a delivered system by 2029i citing the SAMP/T's faster crew requirements, with only around 20 personnel needed to operate it compared to approximately 90 for the Patriot.
Ankara has been in talks with Rome about acquiring and co-producing the system as a key pillar of what Turkish officials describe as a "Steel Dome," a layered national missile defense architecture.
Progress had stalled for years after France, co-owner of the Eurosam consortium, blocked earlier bids by Türkiye following Turkish operations in Syria in 2019.
At the NATO summit in The Hague in June 2025, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan directly raised the issue with French President Emmanuel Macron, urging Paris to lift the political obstacles standing in the way of the sale and joint production arrangement.
A fresh round of negotiations between Ankara and Rome was reported in April 2026, with Turkish defense firms Aselsan and Roketsan expected to play roles in radar integration, fire control, and missile subsystem production should a deal materialize.
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