North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on Monday (June 12) is beginning its largest air force deployment exercise in Europe in the alliance’s history. It is to be a display of unity towards partners and potential threats like Russia.
The “Air Defender 23” exercise led by Germany will run till June 23. It will involve 250 military aircraft from 25 NATO and partner countries including Japan and Sweden. The latter is joining the alliance after years of maintaining neutrality.
The drills are aimed at boosting interoperability and preparedness to defend against drones and cruise missiles in case of an attack on cities, airports or sea ports. Up to 10,000 people will take part in the exercise.
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Last week, Lieutenant General Ingo Gerhartz of the German Luftwaffe presented the plan. He said that “Air Defender” was conceived in 2018 in response to Russia’s annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. Gerhartz maintained that the exercise was “not targeted at anyone”.
He said that while NATO would defend “every centimetre” of its territory, the exercise would not “send any flights, for example, in the direction of Kaliningrad,” the Russian enclave bordering alliance member states Poland and Lithuania.
“We are a defensive alliance and that is how this exercise is planned,” he said.
US wants ‘Mr Putin’ to take note
The drills would show “beyond a shadow of a doubt the agility and the swiftness of our allied force,” said Amy Gutmann, US ambassador to Germany. Gutmann said that “Air Defender 23” was intended to send a message to countries including Russia.
“I would be pretty surprised if any world leader was not taking note of what this shows in terms of the spirit of this alliance, which means the strength of this alliance, and that includes Mr Putin,” she told reporters, referring to the Russian president.
“By synchronising together, we multiply our force.”
NATO, a predominantly Western military alliance, was set up 75 years ago to check the influence of the Soviet Union.
After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Finland and Sweden sought NATO membership. Both countries for years, had maintained the stance of neutrality to avoid conflict with Moscow.
An attack on any member country of NATO is considered an attack on all countries of the alliance.
The exercise will include operational and tactical-level training, primarily in Germany, but also in the Czech Republic, Estonia and Latvia. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will visit pilots based at the Schleswig-Jagel airfield in northern Germany on Friday.
(With inputs from agencies)
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