Middle East Eye: Türkiye establishes a military base at T4 Airport and prepares to deploy air defense systems

Informed sources told Middle East Eye that Türkiye has begun taking steps to establish a presence at the Tiyas air base in Syria, known as T4, with plans to deploy air defense systems there.

This coincided with reports indicating the commencement of construction and development work within the base.

According to sources, Ankara and Damascus have been negotiating since December on a defense agreement, which stipulates that Türkiye will assume responsibility for providing air cover and military support to the incoming Syrian government.

Although Turkish officials previously described any Turkish military presence in Syria as premature, discussions have continued behind the scenes.

Ankara seeks to capitalize on the withdrawal of Russia and Iran to fill the security vacuum and achieve stability through its military might.

Ankara aims to intensify its operations against ISIS, a key condition demanded by the United States for withdrawing its forces from the region.

A source confirmed that Türkiye has already begun taking steps to position itself at the base near Palmyra, noting that Hisar air defense systems will be deployed there to secure the airspace, in addition to rehabilitating and expanding the base.

Plans also include the construction of new facilities and the deployment of drones with long-range attack capabilities.

The source explained that controlling the base would give Türkiye air superiority, strengthening its operations against ISIS cells in the Syrian desert, as part of a strategy to establish an integrated air defense system capable of intercepting aircraft, missiles, and drones.

In this context, another source revealed that the presence of Turkish air defense systems and drones could constitute a deterrent to Israel, limiting its ability to carry out airstrikes in the region.

The Turkish Ministry of Defense declined to comment on these reports.
Israeli concern over Turkish expansion in Syria

With the collapse of the Assad government in December, Israel intensified its airstrikes on Syrian military installations, particularly around T4, targeting runways and strategic sites within the Palmyra airbase.

Media outlets quoted an Israeli security official as saying that any Turkish presence at a Syrian airbase would limit Israel’s freedom of action in the air, stressing that Israel views this as a potential threat and strongly objects to it.

Relations between Türkiye and Israel have deteriorated sharply since the outbreak of the Israeli war on Gaza in 2023, leading to the collapse of diplomatic rapprochement between the two countries.

Israeli concerns have grown over the growing cooperation between Türkiye and Syria, which Israel views as a regional threat that may even outweigh the Iranian threat.

The Israeli source added that the recent Israeli raids on the T4 base were a clear message that Israel won’t accept any threat to its freedom of air operations.

Meanwhile, discussions on the deployment of the S-400 and alternative Turkish options, as according to sources, Türkiye is considering temporarily deploying the Russian S-400 air defense system at the T-4 base or Palmyra to secure the airspace during reconstruction operations.

However, this decision hasn’t yet been finalized and requires Moscow’s approval.

At the same time, Ankara is holding talks with Washington about the possibility of lifting sanctions imposed on it due to its purchase of the S-400 system, which led to its exclusion from the F-35 fighter jet program in 2019.

In a phone call last month, between US President Donald Trump and his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, discussed ways to bring Türkiye back into the F-35 program, but US law requires Ankara to abandon the Russian system first.

Turkish officials have proposed dismantling the S-400 and storing or transferring it to a base outside Turkish territory under Ankara’s control.

However, Israel strongly opposes any move that would give Türkiye access to F-35 fighter jets, fearing it would undermine Israel’s military superiority in the region.