NEW : German parliament OKs deployment of German Patriot anti - aircraft missiles to Turkey . U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta signs authorization for missiles and troops en route to Turkey . The U.S. military will deploy 500 troops and two artillery batteries to Turkey . Patriots are constructed to take out threats from warplanes and tactical ballistic missiles to unmanned aircraft by impacting with them in midair , according to Raytheon Co. , which builds them . Move signals U.S. support for Turkey in the face of possible threats from Syria .
NEW : German parliament OKs deployment of German Patriot anti - aircraft missiles to Turkey . U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta signs authorization for missiles and troops en route to Turkey . The U.S. military will deploy 500 troops and two artillery batteries to Turkey . Move signals U.S. support for Turkey in the face of possible threats from Syria .