The Drive:
The U.S. Army is looking to expand a secretive missile defense site in Turkey, according to the service’s request for funds in the 2018 fiscal year. The plan comes amid tensions between officials in Washington and Ankara over support for Kurdish rebels fighting ISIS in Syria, as well as cool relations with Russia who have historically criticized America’s missile protection plans in Europe and the Middle East.
Posted online on May 23, 2017, the military construction portion of the Army’s budget proposal includes approximately $6.4 million to build out a so-called “forward operating site” at an unspecified location in Turkey. The plan would provide adequate space for approximately 250 American personnel, Turkish forces, and contractors, operating a mobile AN/TPY-2 radar on behalf of the Missile Defense Agency (MDA), as well as improve the overall quality of life at the facilities. Separately, the MDA asked for $524 million to support its entire world-wide “radar fleet,” including the TPY-2 in Turkey.
“This project is required … for a unit undergoing conversion from a Detachment to a Ballistic Missile Defense Battery,” according to the project description. “The project supports the operations of the AN/TPY-2 radar system, a deployed component of the Missile Defense Agency.”
Though the Army doesn’t say where the small base actually is, other publicly available documents point to an obscure facility near Malatya, Turkey, known as “Site K.” The Army, in cooperation with the MDA, first began setting up there in 2013 as part of a NATO missile defense mission known as Operation Atlantic Sentry. Raytheon’s radar is most commonly associated with Lockheed Martin’s Terminal High Altitude Air Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system, but it can operate as an independent surveillance tool.
From the request, the existing facilities sound pretty austere and unwelcoming. This is the official overview of the situation:
“The location is a previously abandoned radar site on a remote, underdeveloped mountain top. Currently, deteriorating temporary rigid wall structures are being used for the unit’s readiness building. The unit is without warm vehicle storage. The vehicles are exposed to harsh winter conditions, sub-zero temperatures, heavy snowfall and high winds, which persist seven months of the year. Food is stored in refrigerator vans which are nearing the end of their service life. Large quantities of supplies must be temporarily stored in distant locations because the site is inaccessible during the winter months.”
So, the Army wants new funds specifically to pay for an upgraded ready building for the missile defenders, an expanded motor pool, an improved power plant, and various storage facilities to support these operations. In addition, the money covers associated improvements to the site’s local defensive perimeter, electric power and gas lines, water and sewage systems, and storm drains…
