9th Active Fence

After the crisis in Syria and at Turkey’s request, NATO decided to increase its aerial defence capacities against ballistic missiles coming from Syria through the deployment of land to air ‘PATRIOT’ missiles units for the development of antimissile defence operations.

On the 26th of December 2014 the Cabinet, which extended the participation of units and military observers in international operations, approved the participation of an Anti-aircraft Artillery Unit plus the necessary support staff in the Army’s ‘PATRIOT’ Battery base, making up a contingent of around 130 troops.

The Spanish Patriot Unit, based in the 73rd Anti-aircraft Artillery Regiment, deployed in the Incirlik Aerial Base in Adana, Turkey, carried out the changing of the guard ceremony which replaced the AT-VIII with the AT-IX on the 19th of January 2019. The new contingent is completed with staff from the rest of the Anti-aircraft Artillery Command units and around ten members of the Canary Islands Command.

Lieutenant Colonel José Alberto Muñoz Martínez, passed the baton to Colonel Javier Vazquez Hermoso, chief of the RAAA 71 Mistral Group in Spain, and the new chief of the AT-IX contingent in Adana.

The outgoing force returns home having provided antimissile defence to the city of Adana twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week for six months. This involved having a high level of technical preparation and the capacity to provide an immediate response to a ballistic missile attack. The mission highlighted our commitment to our NATO allies and highlights the challenge posed by trying to improve upon the extraordinary level reached by the previous contingents.