Stars and Stripes
May 25, 2023

Long-awaited US Army missile defense headquarters opens in Turkey to positive reviews

An under-the-radar Army missile defense mission in southern Turkey got a boost this month when a new operational headquarters that was seven years in the making finally came to fruition.

The so-called Ready Building, where soldiers are responsible for surveillance and early warning of tactical ballistic missile threats, also [services forces] operating at one of the Army’s more austere and secretive locations.

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A ribbon cutting for the new building was held May 18.

The statement, issued by the 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command, did not specify the exact location of the facility, noting only it’s based in Turkey.

However, U.S. and Turkish officials in the past have spoken publicly about the mission, which is carried out in the small mountain town of Kurecik.

U.S. soldiers began arriving at the site around 2012 in connection with NATO missile defense efforts that primarily are focused on threats emanating from Iran.

Referred to by the military as Site K, it has a high-powered radar that is key to NATO’s missile defense architecture, which also involves U.S. Navy missile defense missions based out of Romania and Spain.