Turkey said on Wednesday that Germany would ‌send it a Patriot missile defense system for a six-month deployment from June to replace a system deployed as part of NATO measures in southeast Turkey to ‌bolster air defenses amid the war in ​Iran.

In March, Ankara said a U.S. Patriot system was deployed to southeast Turkey, ⁠near a NATO radar base, in the ​face of missile threats from Iran. NATO defenses shot ⁠down four ballistic missiles launched from Iran during the war.

“In addition to the Spanish Patriot air defense system currently deployed ‌in our country, one of the ​two additional Patriot systems ‌deployed by NATO due to the conflicts between the U.S., ‌Israel, and Iran will be replaced by a German system,” the Turkish Defence Ministry said in a ⁠statement.

“This replacement is ‌planned to be ⁠completed in June, and the system is expected to remain ⁠operational ⁠for approximately six months,” it said, adding security evaluations will continue in ‌coordination with allies.

Turkey, which has NATO’s second-largest army, has in recent years taken significant steps to reduce its ‌reliance ​on external suppliers in ‌the defense industry. However, despite its efforts, it still lacks comprehensive air defenses and ​relies on NATO systems deployed in the region for support.