Editor's note: This article, originally published Dec. 27, was updated Jan. 7 to clarify that German personnel make up a fraction of the crews for NATO's planned AWACS missions in Turkey.
ANKARA, Turkey — NATO will send a force of Airborne Early Warning and Control Systems (AWACS) reconnaissance planes, including personnel based in Germany, to Turkey to help augment the NATO ally's airspace from potential threats from Syria.
A London-based Turkey specialist said the move aims to deter primarily Russian aggression against Turkish aircraft patrolling the country's Syria border.
"This is a message to Russia in the aftermath of the crisis," the analyst said. "It is NATO's best interests if a potential Turkish-Russian conflict is prevented."
Russia pledged to take revenge — and "not just by means of commercial sanctions" — after two Turkish F-16s shot down a Russian SU-24 on Nov. 24, citing a brief violation of the Turkish airspace along the Syrian border.
Turkish diplomats said the German military would send more troops to operate NATO's early warning aircraft there.
In a letter to the Bundestag, the lower house of the German Parliament, the German government said NATO's AWACS aircraft would be temporarily moved to a Turkish air base in the central Anatolian province of Konya.
The plan drew ire from German politicians who said Sunday that they were not consulted.
"The government must immediately inform parliament of the details of this deployment, in particular what missions will be assigned to these planes and the destination of any data they collect," Tobias Lindner, the green party's head of defense matters, demanded in German daily Bild.
The Defence Ministry noted that the deployment was aimed at carrying out airspace surveillance, not armed operations.
The move includes a temporary relocation of the Boeing E-3 Sentry aircraft from Germany's Geilenkirchen Air Base to Konya Air Base. At least a third of the military personnel used in NATO's AWACS missions are German, Defense News has confirmed.
On Dec. 22, Germany withdrew its Patriot air and anti-missile defense systems from Turkish soil after a three-year-long deployment. The move came shortly after NATO agreed to strengthen efforts to protect Turkey's southern borders and airspace.
Germany, along with other NATO allies, deployed the Patriots in Turkey to help the Turkish better counter any potential missile threat from Syria.
Earlier this year, the Berlin government said it would not renew the Patriot mandate in Turkey. The German Patriots were deployed in the southeastern Turkish province of Kahramanmaras.
The German withdrawal left only Spanish Patriot systems in Turkish territory. Those missile systems are stationed in the southern province of Adana near the Incirlik military base where U.S. and allied forces carry out airstrikes against radical jihadist strongholds in Syria.
In early 2013, the Dutch, US and German missile systems were stationed in Turkey. Spanish Patriots replaced the Dutch systems early 2015.
Spain agreed to extend its Patriot mandate in Turkey to help protect the Turkish territory.
On Dec. 18, NATO allies agreed to augment Turkey's southern borders and airspace by sending aircraft and ships. The NATO assistance will include surveillance aircraft and what NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg described as "enhanced air policing, and increased naval presence including maritime patrol aircraft."
The ships will be provided by Germany and Denmark currently exercising in the eastern Mediterranean.
Agence France-Presse contributed to this report.
ANKARA, Turkey — Germany will soon send to Turkey Airborne Early Warning and Control Systems (AWACS) to Turkey to help augment the NATO ally's airspace from potential threats from Syria.
A London-based Turkey specialist said that the move aims to deter primarily a Russian aggression against Turkish aircraft patrolling the country's Syria border.
"This is a message to Russia in the aftermath of the crisis," the analyst said. "It is NATO's best interests if a potential Turkish-Russian conflict is prevented."
Russia has pledged to take revenge, — and "not just by means of commercial sanctions," — after two Turkish F-16s shot down a Russian SU-24 on Nov. 24, citing a brief violation of the Turkish airspace along the Syrian border.
Turkish diplomats said the German military would send more troops to operate the early warning aircraft in Turkey.
In a letter to the Bundestag, the lower house of the German pParliament, the German government said NATO's AWACS aircraft would be temporarily moved to a Turkish air base in the central Anatolian province of Konya.
The move will denote a temporary relocation of the Boeing E-3 Sentry aircraft from Germany's Geilenkirchen Air Base to Konya Air Base.
On Dec. 22, Germany withdrew its Patriot air and anti-missile defense systems from Turkish soil after a three-year-long deployment. The move came shortly after NATO agreed to strengthen efforts to protect Turkey's southern borders and airspace.
Germany, along with other NATO allies, had deployed the Patriots in Turkey to help the Turkish better counter any potential missile threat from Syria.
Earlier this year, the Berlin government said it would not renew the Patriot mandate in Turkey. The German Patriots were deployed in the southeastern Turkish province of Kahramanmaras.
The German withdrawal left only Spanish Patriots systems in Turkish territory. They Those missile systems are stationed in the southern province of Adana near the Incirlik military base where U.S. and allied forces carry out airstrikes against radical jihadist strongholds in Syria.
In early 2013, the Dutch, US and German missile systems were stationed in Turkey. Spanish pPatriots replaced the Dutch systems early 2015.
Spain has agreed to extend its Patriot mandate in Turkey to help protect the Turkish territory.
On Dec. 18, NATO allies agreed to augment Turkey's southern borders and airspace by sending aircraft and ships. The NATO assistance will include surveillance aircraft and what NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg described as "enhanced air policing, and increased naval presence including maritime patrol aircraft."
The ships will be provided by Germany and Denmark currently exercising in the eastern Mediterranean.
BERLIN — A NATO force of reconnaissance planes that includes German personnel will be sent to help Turkey police its border, drawing ire from politicians in Germany who said on Sunday they were not consulted.
"The government must immediately inform parliament of the details of this deployment, in particular what missions will be assigned to these planes and the destination of any data they collect," Tobias Lindner, the green party's head of defense matters, demanded in German daily Bild.
Though the mission involves sending German troops abroad, the government said it has no plans to consult the Bundestag, Germany's lower house of parliament.
The defence ministry noted the deployment was aimed at carrying out airspace surveillance and not armed operations.
NATO plans a temporary transfer of AWAC aircraft from the west German base in Geilenkirchen to the Konya base in central Turkey, Germany's defence ministry wrote in a December 18 letter revealed Sunday.
Germany contributes about 30 percent of the NATO personnel serving on the 17 Boeing E-3A Sentry AWAC planes in Geilenkirchen, according to the letter.
It was not immediately clear how many planes were to be sent to help Ankara "ensure Turkish security" in view of conflicts in neighboring Syria and Iraq.
Tensions have been high since Ankara shot down a Russian warplane that NATO member Turkey says strayed into its airspace and ignored repeated warnings.
Sahra Wagenknecht, vice president of radical left party Die Linke, called the mission "highly dangerous" and demanded a vote in the Bundestag.
The head of the Bundestag's defence committee, Social Democrat Wolfgang Hellmich, said the timing of the news was "a bit curious" given that lawmakers were away for the holidays and have not yet taken up the matter.
The lower house was consulted in early December on German plans to contribute up to 1,200 of its soldiers to international operations battling Islamic State jihadists in Syria and Iraq.
Burak Ege Bekdil was the Turkey correspondent for Defense News.
