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Soldiers from the 24 Surface-to-Air Missile Group were given a formal send-off in their home state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania on Friday, as around 150 Bundeswehr troops prepare to deploy to Türkiye at the end of June.
The ceremony in Bad Sulze marked the departure of the air defence unit, which will take over Patriot missile defence duties in Türkiye from a US contingent currently stationed there. Germany's Federal Defence Ministry said the mission on NATO's southeastern flank will run until September, with German forces operating in close coordination with Turkish and American military personnel.
Defence Minister Boris Pistorius described the deployment as evidence of Germany's expanding role within the alliance. "Germany is taking on more responsibility within NATO," Pistorius said in May. "We are doing this on the eastern flank, we are doing this at the northern tip, and now we will do it in Türkiye, on NATO's southeastern front."
The deployment comes as NATO has moved to bolster Türkiye's air defences in response to the deteriorating security situation in the Middle East, including conflict triggered by US and Israeli military action against Iran. The alliance has responded by repositioning additional troops and defence systems to the region.
The German unit will formally relieve a US contingent currently stationed in Türkiye, assuming Patriot air defence responsibility for approximately three months, a handover that reflects the alliance's broader effort to distribute military burden-sharing across member states.
This is not the first time a German Patriot unit has served on Turkish soil. Between 2013 and 2015, Bundeswehr forces were stationed in Kahramanmaras to help protect NATO airspace along the Syrian border, during the height of the Syrian civil war. German air defence forces have also deployed to Poland, Slovakia and Lithuania in recent years.
The 24 Surface-to-Air Missile Group itself has a 65-year institutional history, having been founded on January 12, 1961, originally operating the US-built Nike Hercules system, which carried a nuclear warhead capability.
It was reorganised into a Patriot task force between 1991 and 1993. Beyond combat roles, the unit's soldiers have participated in humanitarian relief operations in disaster zones. Command of the Türkiye mission falls to Lieutenant Colonel Miladin Dujovic, 43.
The Patriot system, a long-range US-developed platform capable of intercepting ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and aircraft, has become a cornerstone of Germany's contribution to collective allied defence since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine reshaped European security priorities in 2022.
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