Dubbed “Air Defender 23”, the military exercise runs until June 23 and brings together around 250 military aircraft from 25 NATO member and allied countries, including Japan and Sweden.
The operation, officially led by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), is not targeting “anyone” in particular, German Air Force chief General Ingo Gerhardts assured during a presentation of the exercise in early June. The message sent to Moscow by this exercise – one of the most important in the alliance’s history – is clear.
“The most important signal we are sending is that we can defend ourselves,” the company’s boss told television. Luftwaffe. Germany is coordinating the maneuver, which will take place in three sectors of the country’s airspace from June 12 to 23, but also in the Czech Republic, Estonia and Latvia.
Up to 10,000 people take part in the exercises, which aim to test whether different armies can work together against drones and missiles in the event of an attack on cities, airports or ports bordering NATO.
Defensive purpose only
The exercise was created in 2018 in response to Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and is designed as a form of insurance for the eastern part of the transatlantic alliance.
NATO is determined to defend “every centimeter” of its territory, but it will not “send any aircraft, for example, in the direction of Kaliningrad”, a Russian enclave bordering Poland and Lithuania, NATO members stressed the general. “We’re a defensive alliance, and that’s how this exercise is planned.”
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A show of strength
But these maneuvers are specifically aimed at sending a message to Russia, America’s ambassador to Germany, Amy Goodman, explained to the press.
I’d be very surprised if a world leader didn’t notice the strength of this alliance, and that included Vladimir Putin.
Russia’s war against Ukraine has strengthened the Western military alliance formed nearly 75 years ago to confront the Soviet Union.
Finland and Sweden, which have long maintained official neutrality to avoid any conflict with Moscow, asked to join NATO after the February 24, 2022 Russian invasion.
America is a strong ally
The exercise is intended to “support America’s permanent presence in Europe” and provide training “on a larger scale than is typically accomplished on the continent,” explains National Guard Director General Michael Lowe. American Airlines
He said many Alliance pilots will be working together for the first time. “It’s about nurturing old relationships, but also building new ones,” he said.
There are no plans at this stage to turn “Air Defender” into a regular exercise, the ambassador of the United States underlined. But the great power did not want “this exercise to be the last”.
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