Last week, three Royal Air Force aircraft helped deliver some of NATO’s package of emergency support to Turkey, following the devastating earthquake.
An RAF A400M Atlas and two C130 Hercules transported a NATO reconnaissance team and their equipment from Italy to Turkey. The team were deployed to start establishing a large emergency accommodation facility, which was announced by the NATO Secretary General last week.
The initial team consisted of twelve people, four Land Rovers with trailers and four aircraft pallets of other equipment.
The UK is a leading contributor to NATO and the Defence Secretary was in Brussels last week for meetings with Defence Ministers, where support to Turkey was discussed, as well as the ongoing commitment to Ukraine.
We are committed to helping our close partner Turkey following the devastating earthquake and have deployed flights, medics and aid to support the recovery efforts. We will continue to explore options for further support and I am in regular contact with my counterpart and friend Minister Akar.
Ben Wallace
Defence Secretary
The Ministry of Defence is also supporting Turkey bilaterally with specialist medical assistance. A critical care air support team and C130 transport aircraft has deployed to Turkey to transport patients from areas most impacted by the earthquake, and a UK Medical Treatment Facility has been set up in Turkoglu to treat hundreds of people.
The RAF has also flown over 15 tonnes of aid to Turkey including thousands of thermal blankets to keep survivors warm in sub-zero temperatures and £25 million in new funding to support the response was announced this week.