The “Air Defender 23” exercise, coordinated by Germany, will take place over ten days starting Monday and will bring together military aircraft from 25 countries.
By Le Figaro with AFP
Published 07/06/2023 at 13:06, updated 07/06/2023 at 13:06
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The French Navy’s Dassault Rafale fighter jet. VanderWolf Images / stock.adobe.com
NATO will conduct its largest air exercise next week, coordinated by Germany, the US and German officials, it was announced on Wednesday (June 7).
The “Air Defender 23” exercise will take place over ten days starting Monday and will bring together around 220 military aircraft from 25 member states and NATO partners.
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defensive exercise
The exercise will be purely defensive in nature, but will also aim to send a message to Russia in particular, US Ambassador to Germany Amy Gutmann told the press. “I would be very surprised if a world leader did not take note of what this shows in terms of the spirit of this alliance, what the strength of this alliance means, and that includes Vladimir Putin,” argues the Russian president.
The exercise includes operational and tactical training, mainly in Germany, but also in the Czech Republic, Estonia and Latvia. The exercise was designed in 2018, among other things, as a reaction to the annexation of Crimea by Russia in 2014, even if it is not specifically aimed at “someone”, assured General Ingo Gerhartz, head of the German Air Force.
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“We are a defensive alliance and that is how this exercise is planned,” he added. “Much has changed in the global strategic landscape, especially here in Europe,” noted General Michael Loh, Director of the US Air National Guard, who sees NATO at a “tipping point.” “This exercise is designed to complement the United States’ permanent presence in Europe and provide training on a larger scale than what is normally conducted on the continent,” he said.
There are currently no plans to make Air Defender a regular exercise, Amy Gutmann said. But she added, “We don’t want this exercise to be the last.” When asked about possible disruption to civilian air traffic during the exercise, General Gerhartz insisted the planners did “everything in their power” to avoid flight delays or failures, as the school holidays are beginning in some regions of Germany.
Founded at the beginning of the Cold War, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has developed into the most important joint military defense organization with 31 member countries in Europe and North America.
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