Turkey is in talks with Italy to purchase and co-produce a European missile defense system as it seeks to strengthen its air defenses amid rising regional tensions, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
Ankara has long sought to acquire the SAMP/T air defense system produced by the French-Italian consortium Eurosam, but earlier efforts stalled due to objections from France. Turkish officials, who spoke to Bloomberg on condition of anonymity, now believe Paris may be more open to a deal.
The renewed push comes after a series of missile incidents during the ongoing regional conflict, which began when the US and Israel began to launch joint strikes on Iran in late February.
In retaliation, Iran began to target Israel and hit US assets in Gulf countries.
Since the start of the war on February 28, missiles launched from Iran entered or approached Turkish airspace and were intercepted by NATO systems, although Tehran has denied targeting Turkey and says it respects the country’s sovereignty.
Turkey aims to incorporate the SAMP/T system into a broader, layered air defense network, sometimes described by officials as a “steel dome,” modeled in part on Israel’s Iron Dome, Bloomberg reported.
Ankara has for years pushed for joint production of air defense systems with NATO allies as part of efforts to expand its domestic defense industry. A 2018 agreement with Eurosam on co-production failed to advance due to disagreements, particularly with France.
Neither Turkey’s Defense Ministry nor Italian officials commented on the talks, Bloomberg said, while the French presidency referred inquiries to the defense ministry, which did not respond.
The discussions come as Turkey ramps up domestic defense production. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan earlier this week inaugurated the first phase of a $3 billion missile production facility near Ankara operated by the state-run Roketsan, aimed at boosting output of missile defense systems and ballistic missiles.
Turkey is also set to host a NATO leaders summit in July and has called for fewer restrictions on defense industry cooperation within the alliance to strengthen deterrence along its southeastern flank.
At the same time Ankara is seeking to repair strained ties with the United States following its 2019 purchase of Russian S-400 missile systems, which led to its removal from the F-35 joint strike fighter program, Bloomberg reported.