As part of the Air Force’s main Air Defender maneuver, soldiers will practice defending the NATO alliance area against a dummy attacker through June 23. It is not officially a NATO exercise, although most of the 25 participating countries are NATO members. The Federal Republic is the center of the manoeuvre. At times, around 20 of the more than 230 aircraft involved in the exercise will be parked at the Lechfeld airfield in the Augsburg district, as well as around 800 of the approximately 10,000 participants in the maneuver.
BR24live talks to the Bundeswehr about the big manoeuvre: Is the exercise going as planned so far? Why is it necessary from the point of view of the Bundeswehr? And will Armed Forces aircraft affect civilian air traffic in the coming days?
Exercises: from airborne refueling to dropping bombs
Among other things, soldiers practice airborne refueling, aerial combat, or dropping bombs over training areas. The armed forces also train in defending airports and fighting drones or cruise missiles. About 10,000 soldiers are involved. By far the largest proportion of troops and aircraft come from the United States.
Soldiers practice NATO alliance case: Germany is attacked
In the exercise scenario, the alliance case is proclaimed in accordance with Article 5 of the NATO treaty. A fictional eastern military alliance called “OCCASUS” attacks West Germany by infiltrating special forces and other troops from the east into Germany and occupying the fictional “Klebius” region. In this situation, according to the Luftwaffe, it is foreseeable that there will be an advance towards the north towards the Baltic Sea, where the enemy troops intend to take possession of the port of Rostock. The air force must react to this advance during the “Air Defender” maneuver.
Such scenarios are common in military exercises. “Air Defender” focuses on the cooperation of air forces. Even in the event of an actual attack on a NATO member country, a comparable concentration of troops in a logistically convenient location would likely be likely.